4 India-bound cars score 5-stars in Euro NCAP safety ratings

Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) is an independent organisation that performs crash tests on new vehicles to assess their safety. The organisation has just released a new batch of results for 2015 and while most of these cars are limited to European markets, there are some that hold plenty of relevance for the Indian market.      

The comprehensive safety tests were implemented on the new BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Jaguar XF and XE – cars that are headed for the Indian market. Fortunately, all the cars have been awarded the maximum five-star rating by Euro NCAP.

Starting with the two Jaguar sedans, the XE and the XF scored high marks in safety categories including adult occupant, child occupant, pedestrian and safety assist. Both models offer a full suite of active safety technologies and driver assistance systems including stability control, traction control, emergency brake assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control.

Additional features offered in the XF (and which will be offered in the 2017 model year XE) include lane keep assist, driver condition monitor and adaptive speed limiter.

The X1 is the first model to be based on BMW’s UKL front-wheel-drive architecture and it too has been awarded five stars in the Euro NCAP safety test. The crossover scored well in both front and side crash tests and its standard emergency brake assist also scored high marks. BMW’s Z4 was also a part of this latest round of crash tests, however, it scored a disappointing 3-star rating. The Z4 is the third and last roadster tested this year by Euro NCAP and the one that has been out on the market the longest. The sports car received a facelift in 2013, but it has not kept up with the advancements in Euro NCAP's rating scheme. Since it was lacking in crash avoidance technologies such as lane assist and speed assist systems that are common on other popular BMW models, the Z4 received a 3-star rating.

Lastly, the Mercedes-Benz GLC also managed to bag home the maximum five-star rating. The SUV scored 95 percent, 89 per cent and 71 per cent in adult occupant, child occupant and safety assists respectively. The GLC, in essence, is the new GLK-Class but gets the GLC name thanks to its close association with C-Class as per Mercedes’ new naming convention.