Chevrolet Spark Gets Four Stars at Euro NCAP

The new Chevrolet Spark did quite well at the Euro NCAP tests, as the little city car did not only manage to get four stars, one of the best results in the city car class, but was only one point away from receiving five stars. The Spark got 69 points out of the 100 points possible and needed 70 points to get the five star rating.

In the Adult Protection section, the Spark scored the maximum 8 points for the side impact test against a moving deformable barrier and 7.35 points in the side pole test, as protection of the chest was adequate and that of other body regions was good. The passenger compartment remained stable in the frontal impact, wrote Euro NCAP.

In the Child Protection test, the Spark did very well, scoring another maximum for its protection of the 3 year-old dummy. Even though the passenger airbag can be disabled in order to place the baby in the front seat, the information regarding the status of the airbag is not clear to the driver.

In the Pedestrian Protection section, the front bumper scored highest for leg protection, but problems occurred with the bonnet, which offered rather poor protection.

Chevrolet Spark’s safety equipment includes a seatbelt reminder for the driver, front passenger and rear seats. Unfortunately, none of the Spark models have Electronic Stability Control (ESC), but Chevrolet said this system will become available on some variants of the Spark in 2010.

"The outstanding performance of our new mini-car in stringent Euro NCAP testing reflects our attention to safety as well as eye-catching styling and great packaging," said Wayne Brannon, President and Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe. "The Spark meets the high expectations of mini-car buyers in Europe's mature markets."