Euro NCAP recently released the results for seats put through the organisation's first ever round of rear impact testing. They carried out whiplash tests on the front seats of 25 passenger cars crash-tested by the organisation during 2008.
Only five out of the 25 seats tested and taken from new cars received Euro NCAP's best score with a "good" or green result. These five cars were the Volvo XC60, Alfa Romeo Mito, Volkswagen Golf VI, Audi A4 and Opel Insignia. Eight seats of the same 25 were rated as "poor" or "red" meaning that the seat occupant has a significantly higher risk of developing a long-term injury in the case of a low speed rear end collision. These cars were the Daihatsu Cuore, Citroen Berlingo, Hyundai i10, Citroen C5, Ford Kuga, Daihatsu Terios, Peugeot 308CC and the Suzuki Splash.
Euro NCAP's test procedure was developed to take into account both the geometrical aspects of the seat, the size and shape of the head restraint and its proximity to the occupant, and its dynamic performance during an actual crash test. This dynamic performance is assessed using a seat mounted on a sled test, subjected to low, moderate and higher test severities representing a range of crash forces causing injury. Some of the seats that received Euro NCAP's worst result, with a "poor" or "red" score, provided protection at the lower test severity, but yielded excessively at the higher test severity leading to a zero score. An example of this performance is the Daihatsu Terios.
Three of the eight seats that achieved a "red" result were from cars that were awarded five stars in Euro NCAP's Adult Occupant protection rating during 2008. These cars were the Citroen C5, Ford Kuga and the Peugeot 308CC. As from 2009, the new Rear Impact (Whiplash) test will automatically be included as part of Euro NCAP's first area of assessment Adult Occupant Protection.
Of the 25 seats, 12 models received a "marginal" or "orange" result, indicating that although these seats incorporated some beneficial qualities, additional improvement was necessary. It is interesting to note that the price of the vehicle does not seem to be reflected in the performance of the seat. Both expensive and cheaper cars did well and not so well in this test. For example, the pro-active head restraints such as those equipped in the BMW X3 and the Mercedes Benz M-Class did not fully live up to their claims.
