No One Would Want to Be Inside This ZERO-Star Fiat if It Crashes

Produced in Argentina and Brazil, and equipped with two frontal airbags and no standard ESC, the Italian firm’s car crashed its way into a zero-star safety rating.

It achieved 24.37% in the Adult Occupant category, 9.91% in Child Occupant, 36.91% in Pedestrian Protection, and 6.98% in Safety Assist, with the South American safety specialist noting that it showed low and poor protection throughout the procedures.

“If it would not have been tested, we would not know about the low safety that the Fiat Argo / Cronos offers, not only to its customers, but to all the people that coexist on the streets, with this type of vehicle,” said Latin NCAP’s Chairman, Stephan Brodziak. “Fiat adds another low-safety car to the list of cars that do not adequately protect road users. We make a call to Fiat to shift towards safer cars.”

Subsequent to this result, Fiat stepped forward, announcing that they “will improve this model soon, and will volunteer for testing to demonstrate the improvements,” according to Latin NCAP.

While the Argo / Cronos disappointed, the Volkswagen Taos impressed in the crash-testing session. The high-rider, which comes to life in Argentina and Mexico, has become the first model to score a maximum of five stars under Latin NCAP’s latest protocols, with 90.23% in the Adult Occupant category, 89.80% in Child Occupant, 60.61% in Pedestrian Protection, and 85.04% in Safety Assist.

“Taos’ 5 stars is a milestone in Latin NCAP’s latest protocols, and triggers the challenge to all manufacturers to aim for a top-star rating,” commented Latin NCAP’s Secretary General, Alejandro Furas. “The Taos is a locally made product that offers global standards of safety to its occupants and vulnerable road users.”