New airbag proved inferior in Zoe’s NCAP side-impact test
THE RENAULT ZOE has scored zero stars in the latest round of Euro NCAP safety tests, while sibling firm Dacia’s new Spring EV was awarded just one star.
The Zoe had held a five-star rating but was retested after a substantial update last year. This ushered in a bigger battery and extra power but also, Euro NCAP notes, a new seat-mounted side airbag that protects just the occupant’s thorax, rather than the head and thorax as previously.
This change represents “a degradation in occupant protection”, according to Euro NCAP, which reported that in the side pole impact test, the “driver’s head directly impacted the intruding pole and head injury values indicated poor protection of this part of the body”.