Independent safety organisation Euro NCAP has awarded the Dacia Sandero just two stars out of five for crash protection.
Explaining the rationale for the low rating, Euro NCAP said the radar-only autonomous emergency braking system only reacts to other vehicles on the road and won’t prevent crashes with pedestrians or cyclists.
Euro NCAP added the vehicle’s crash protection is ‘respectable’, saying it would have been awarded four stars if fitted with a more advanced emergency braking system.
Thatcham Research, which tests vehicles in the UK for Euro NCAP, added it has concerns about the protection the Sandero offers to adults. It said the vehicle’s score of 70 percent in this area is well below the benchmark set by the Honda Jazz, which scored 87 percent.
Thatcham also raised issues with the Sandero’s structure, saying there is a risk of injury from the dashboard to front seat occupants’ knees, femurs and chests in the event of a frontal impact, with protection rated as only ‘marginal’. The side impact test also revealed a ‘marginal level of protection against chest injury’.
No other car has scored two stars or fewer in terms of relative performance since 2018 and the Dacia’s vulnerable road user score is the worst recorded during Euro NCAP testing since 2013.
“The Sandero’s Euro NCAP rating is a major disappointment and it’s therefore not a new car we would recommend. There are other cars in the supermini segment, whether new or a few years old, that can offer better safety and value for money,” said Matthew Avery, Thatcham Research’s director of insurance research.
“Renault and Nissan both have five-star-rated models in the supermini segment with the Clio and Micra, and the Sandero is closely related to these vehicles. But it appears Dacia has made a clear decision not to prioritise safety, exposing occupants and other road users to increased risk.”
‘Car of the Year’ title could be stripped
The Sandero was named as Car of the Year by What Car? earlier this year. Now, the publisher says the two-star Euro NCAP rating “s ‘below our expectations for an award-winning car.
It added: “We are analysing the findings from Euro NCAP in detail and discussing with Dacia its plans to improve the safety rating. If this cannot be improved, the Dacia Sandero will lose its overall Car of the Year title.”
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