How The VW Golf Received Top Marks In Euro NCAP Safety Tests
The newest Volkswagen Golf has been awarded a highly respectable five-star performance, after rigorous Euro NCAP crash and safety tests.
This may not surprise anyone, as VW have a great history of achieving high marks in past reports.
The Volkswagen Golf is a high-spec supermini Vehicle that has remained one of the European people’s favourite car for over four decades. Find out more about the new model here.
The 2019 VW Golf comes equipped with active safety tech as standard, helping make this iconic car a safe, great performing and firm choice.
The Golf is also the first ever VW to make use of V2X connectivity (vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to infrastructure) to enable advance hazard warnings, an important new technology that will be soon be included in Euro NCAP’s rating!
The Euro NCAP
The European New Car Assessment Programme is an independent European car safety performance assessment programme. The Euro NCAP is designed to put a car through its paces, so that drivers may choose a car safe for them and their family, with assistance features that have been impartially tried and tested.
Focused on four key areas, the Euro NCAP report gathers an overall safety rating from various crash and safety tests performed on the car in question. The Volkswagen Golf endured several crash scenarios - frontal, rear and side tests.
The VW Golf survived thorough crash testing, using dummies linked-up to provide impact readings, for analysis on both Adult Occupant Protection and Child Occupant Protection respectively.
The Golf also underwent Vulnerable Road User safety tests, such as detecting and stopping for unexpected pedestrians and cyclists.
In addition, the VW Golf’s Safety Assistance features were assessed, such autobraking and lane support.
The Results:
Adult Occupant Protection
The Volkswagen Golf scored outstanding marks during Adult Occupant Protection tests, gaining 95%.
The passenger compartment of the Golf remained stable in a test of a front-end crash. Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger.
The Volkswagen showcased how a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions. Protection of the chest was good for both driver and passenger.
In the side barrier crash test protection of all critical body areas was good - the Golf scored maximum points in these tests. In the more severe side pole test, protection of the chest was adequate and that of other body areas was good. However, the side door of the Golf became detached during the test and the score was penalised for the risk of occupant ejection.
All crash tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-end collision.
The Golf’s emergency braking (AEB) system performed well in tests of its functionality at the low speeds, typical of city driving at which many whiplash injuries occur. All collisions were avoided.
Child Occupant Protection
The Volkswagen Golf achieved really well in the Child Occupant protection tests, scoring a high 89%.
When the Golf was involved in front and side collisions, protection of both the 6 and 10-year old dummies was very good, looking after all their critical areas well. In the side collision, the Golf was awarded maximum points.
For families, the VW Golf is designed to accommodate all universal child restraint systems.
The front passenger airbag may be disabled when a rearward-facing child restraint is put in that seating position.
Clear information is provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag.
Vulnerable Road User Protection
It was found that the VW Golf also achieved well in the Vulnerable Road User safety tests, scoring a good 76%.
If a pedestrian was to be hit, the Golf offered good protection to the head, over some of the surface of the bonnet. Some poor results were recorded when hit on the stiff windscreen pillars.
The bumper also serves a good purpose, offering good protection to the legs of a pedestrian if struck.
The Golf’s Smart Brake Support system was also able to detect Vulnerable Road Users in the form of pedestrians, cyclists and other similar small vehicles – the Volkswagen identified these and reacted accordingly.
The Smart Brake system performed well as in some scenarios, accidents were subsequently avoided or eased so the impact was not as damaging.
Safety Assistance
The safety features included in the Golf scored a great 78% and the NCAP testing looked at the following:
- Lane Assist
- Speed Assistant System
- Smart Brake Support
- Seat Belt Reminder
Most whiplash injuries occur at in built-up, urban areas at low speeds – despite this, the Smart Brake Support system in the Volkswagen Golf helped to avoid potential collisions that may have occurred in the test’s scenarios, minimalising any potential whiplash injuries or accidents.
The Golf’s diver-set speed limiter helps the driver to not over-speed. The NCAP report stated that the Golf’s lane assistance system helps to prevent inadvertent drifting out lane, by warning the driver and gently applying some corrective steering.
The system also intervenes more aggressively in some critical situations, making driving at high speeds safer on motorways.
The report recognised the VW Golf’s camera and digital mapping system that is used to determine the local speed limit - this information is presented to the driver who can choose to let the set limiter adapt the speed accordingly.
The car has a seatbelt reminder system as standard for front and rear seats, ensuring that good safety is afforded to the driver and their family.
Watch how the Volkswagen Golf performed during the 2019 Euro NCAP Crash and Safety tests:
You can see a range of the best VW Golf deals here at Vertu Volkswagen.
Click below to take a look at one of the most popular superminis on the market:
For more detail on how the Volkswagen Golf performed, you can view the complete Euro NCAP report here.