The Fiat Panda has been deemed the least safe car on sale in Britain after being handed a zero-star crash test rating by European safety examiners.
Euro NCap testers said the Panda, which the magazine claims is Italy’s best-selling car, showed “poor” head and neck protection for children between the ages of six and ten. Side impact readings also uncovered “high injury risks” to children “due to head-to-head contact.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, the Italian crossover was handed a 45% score for adult occupant protection and 47% for “vulnerable road users” - which includes pedestrians.
Given that the Panda launched in 2012, car news site Motoring Research argues the crossover may be a “victim” of stricter standards introduced by Euro NCap this year.
The European crash test agency now examines autonomous emergency braking systems, which are becoming more common on new cars. The Panda, however, doesn’t include any form of driverless braking.
Matthew Avery, director at automotive safety firm Thatcham Research, told Autocar that an autonomous emergency braking system should be installed as standard on the Panda “as the bare minimum”.
Fiat, however, said the Panda “complies with all safety legislation in every country in which it is sold.”
The Panda’s score is only the second time a car has been awarded a zero out of a possible five star safety rating. The first was awarded to the Fiat Punto last year and has since been removed from sale, says WhatCar?.
What are the UK’s least safe cars?
With the Panda scoring a zero-star rating, it is now the least safe car currently available on sale in the UK.
Jeep, owned by Fiat parent company FCA (Fiat Chrysler Association), was given a score of just one star for its Wrangler 4x4 in the European crash test agency’s latest results.
According to Euro NCap’s most recent figures, the ten least safe cars on sale in 2018 are:
- Fiat Panda - zero stars
- Jeep Wrangler - one star
- Suzuki Jimny - three stars
- Fiat 500 - three stars
- DS 3 - three stars
- Fiat Doblo - three stars
- MG ZS - three stars
- Alfa Romeo Giulietta - three stars
- Ford Ka+ - three stars
- Kia Picanto - three stars
-
Denmark's 'pornographic' mermaid statue is in hot waterUnder the Radar Town will reportedly remove voluptuous Big Mermaid, despite statue being 'arguably a bit less naked' than Copenhagen monument the Little Mermaid
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listingsSpeed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequelSpeed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
-
Fiat 500X Hybrid review: what the car critics sayfeature Fiat has given the 500X an injection of battery power
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binarySpeed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday televisionSpeed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticalsSpeed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunionSpeed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
