Shocking: Most Pedestrian Emergency Braking Systems Fail Independent Test

The experiment proposed by Auto Motor und Sport are simple. A dummy is pulled along on a trolley into the path of different cars. Remember, these are all brand new models, not dinosaurs from yesteryear. The most surprising result is that the W205 Mercedes C-Class almost doesn't brake at all, smashing into the mannequin at high speed.

However, most of the other cars didn't do much better either. The test footage shows the VW Up! and Nissan Qashqai both drastically reduced their speed, but still didn't avoid the impact. We kind of get the feeling that the Mercedes was traveling at a much higher speed than the rest of the cars, but considering they made multiple attempts, it's probably only our imagination. The Up! system only works up to a speed of 30 kilometers per hour (18 km/h), so we know that the car is a little slower than the others.

The only car that passed the test is the Subaru Outback, probably the least well-known model tested when European customers are concerned. We've known for quite some time that the Japanese tested the EyeSight safety package to perfection because they've even issued a recall to fix some bugs.

So how is it possible that expensive vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz and MINI are failing this test? Well, their systems may be outsourced from other companies, like Bosch. They are also more complex than the Volkswagen Up!'s.

This test reminds us of two similar ones carried out by Fifth Gear a few years back. One found that the VW Up! auto-braking was superior to that of the old S-Class. The other shows how park assist fails to do its job on a Volvo and crashes into the car behind.