As you’re aware by now, the Opel (and Vauxhall) Ampera-e is nothing more than a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt with different badges and more driving range attributable to the innate flaws of the New European Driving Cycle. You would expect such a sought-after electric vehicle to be on par with Tesla as far as safety is concerned, but the safety watchdogs at Euro NCAP beg to differ.
“Wait, so you’re telling me the Ampera-e, which is all-new from the ground up, doesn’t live up to expectations or some other vehicles of the same size?” Indeed so, with Euro NCAP highlighting the lack of the seatbelt reminder feature for the rear passengers. “If occupants are not properly restrained, any additional means of protection are largely ineffective,” notes Michiel van Ratingen, the secretary general of the safety performance assessment program.
To make matters worse, the feature is relatively inexpensive, which makes this mess-up even harder to comprehend from Opel’s part. The rear seatbelt reminder is merely the tip of the iceberg, with the Ampera-e also lacking in the area of driver’s knee airbag. The biggest offender, however, is the marginal whiplash protection offered by the front-seat headrests in a rear-end collision.
“A geometric assessment of the rear seats also indicated marginal protection,” with the Euro NCAP deciding not eligible for autonomous emergency braking test points because the seats and headrests are not up to the job. These, in turn, have earned the 2017 Opel Ampera-e and the Vauxhall-branded derivative four stars from the Euro NCAP, which is one star down on conventional subcompact hatchback vehicles such as the 2017 Ford Fiesta.
In percentage points, the Ampera-e boasts 82% for adult occupant protection, 73% for child occupant, 75% for pedestrian protection despite the lack of an active hood, and an abysmal 72% for safety assist. Over in the U.S., the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt didn’t receive the Top Safety Pick+ accolade because of the “poor” rating attributed to headlight performance.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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