The fourth generation of the Renault Megane isn't even available yet, but the French carmaker has always viewed safety as being one of the biggest selling points of the Megane, so Euro NCAP got to test the hatchback a little earlier than expected.
As part of the 7th and last batch of test results for 2015, Euro NCAP released its findings for no less than 15 cars, of which 11 got the maximum score. While the Lancia Ypsilon scored only 2 points and even caught fire, France's most famous compact hatchback aced all tests.
"In less than 2 years, since Euro NCAP started its campaign to encourage car manufacturers to focus on AEB systems, we have noticed an increasing number of manufacturers responding to our call. Some of the systems are already capable of braking for pedestrians which will be the next test in Euro NCAP’s rating scheme in 2016," says Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General.
Opel's new Astra five-door, which is a direct rival for the Megane, was also put through the crash test grinder. The Megane scored slightly better in the adult and child occupant departments, but the Astra fared better in pedestrian protection. We can't really pick a winner between these two, but we can say that the Megane is safe, scoring "Good" or "Adequate" across the board, according to data gathered from new, more accurate dummies.
In Euro NCAP's tests, the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injury in the event of a rear-end collision.
The maximum of 12 points was scored for both the 18-month and 36-month child dummies. However, the Megane only has ISOFIX in the back, and it's not available for the middle seat, not that any car in this class has such a feature.
It's worth noting that a low-speed autonomous emergency braking system designed to cope with fender-benders that commonly occur around town is not available on the Megane. The French automaker should reconsider installing such an option for 2016.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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