The overall packages of occupant, child and pedestrian protection and the safety assistance systems installed in the up! and the new generation Beetle have been evaluated by the European consumer protection organisation, Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme), and the results are first-rate: five stars for both new Volkswagen cars.
In addition, the up! received Euro NCAP’s Advanced Award for the car’s innovative City Emergency Braking function. This positions the new Volkswagen ahead of its direct competitors, because no vehicle in its class has earned five stars and the Advanced Award before. So, the Volkswagen up! is ‘Best in class’ when it comes to safety.
In occupant protection, both vehicles attained top results in all seat positions and regardless of the sizes of the driver and front passenger. Factored into the rating were results of frontal and side impact tests, a pole side impact test and what is known as a whiplash test – which determines loads to the cervical spine of the neck. It is not only the large vehicles that are safe. Both small Volkswagen cars achieved excellent child protection results with dummies representing 18 month and three-year old children.
The up! and Beetle also attained impressive results in the area of safety equipment. Here, Euro NCAP rated the seatbelt reminders for all seats and use of a vehicle dynamic control system (ESP) as especially positive. Euro NCAP is increasingly evaluating active safety assist systems in vehicles. Along with its five star rating, this also led to the up! receiving the Advanced Award for its City Emergency Braking function.
The optional City Emergency Braking is automatically active at speeds between five and 30 km/h, and it utilises a laser sensor (integrated in the upper part of the windscreen) to scan an area of up to 10 metres in front of the up! and detect the risk of an impending collision. If a collision is about to occur with a vehicle moving in the driving direction or with a stationary object without the driver reacting, first the braking system is preconditioned, and in a second stage the hydraulic brake assistant is switched to a more sensitive level. Depending on the situation, City Emergency Braking might then initiate hard braking to a stop as a third stage or support the driver with full braking power if brake pedal pressure is insufficient. Depending on the vehicle’s speed and the particular situation, the emergency braking function with its automatic brake intervention can reduce the severity of accidents and in some cases avoid a collision altogether.
Euro NCAP is a manufacturer independent international crash test programme. The full test results can be viewed at
. After the Golf, Golf Cabriolet, Jetta, Passat, Polo, Scirocco, Sharan and Tiguan, the up! and Beetle are the ninth and tenth vehicles from Volkswagen to earn a top ‘Five Star’ rating from Euro NCAP. This is another sign that Volkswagen is promoting vehicle safety as a top priority, and of course for all sizes of vehicles.
