Five Stars for New Opel Zafira in Euro NCAP Crash Test

Press Release

Highest rating in Euro NCAP safety test

The new Opel Zafira has been awarded the maximum five-star rating for passenger safety in crash tests conducted by Euro NCAP. The architecture of the second-generation Zafira’s underbody is based on the Opel Astra, which also received five stars. The new Zafira also earned a strong four-star rating for child-safety. In addition, it already complies with guidelines on pedestrian protection, which come into effect throughout the EU in October 2005.

Hans H. Demant, Managing Director, Adam Opel AG, sees the positive results as confirmation of Opel’s safety philosophy: “The new Zafira provides all occupants with the highest level of safety. Active safety is of course just as important to us as passive safety, which means making our cars easy to control in an emergency, to help prevent accidents from occurring in the first place – for example with state-of-the-art chassis concepts such as IDSPlus and innovations like Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL).”

SAFETEC includes all active and passive safety features

The Zafira’s optimized crash behavior is mainly due to its newly developed body.

The energy generated in a frontal collision is absorbed by pre-defined deformation zones, located directly in front of the high-strength occupant cell. In a side-impact, the force of the collision is distributed through the stable sidewall design over a wide surface area into the vehicle structure. This construction forms a solid base for the SAFETEC system, which includes all standard active and passive safety features. Numerous active driving safety systems such as IDS (Interactive Driving System) chassis with ESPPlus, TCPlus Traction Control, CBC (Cornering Brake Control), ABS, Brake Assist and four disk brakes, help to prevent accidents from happening at all. Should a collision occur, a comprehensive network of protective devices ensures high levels of passive safety.

These include front airbags for the driver and front passenger, thorax/pelvis side airbags in front, which also protect the hip area, as well as head curtain airbags for the front and two outer second-row seats.

Opel / Vauxhall Zafira EuroNCAP Crash Test Results

Test Scores:

·          Front 14 (88%) 

·          Side 18 (100%) 

·          Belt Reminder 1 

·          Overall 33  

·          Pedestrian 16 (44%)  

·          Child Protection 37 (76%)

The new Zafira gave an all-round performance worthy of its five-star adult occupant rating. The body proved to be extremely strong. It suffered minimal deformation in the frontal impact and protected its adult occupants well in the frontal and side impacts. The Zafira also safeguarded its child occupants, while the protection given to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users was reasonable.

Impact Protection

Frontal Impact

The body suffered minimal deformation and the driver’s door could be opened normally after the impact. The stable structure together with the dual-stage frontal airbags, belt pre-tensioners and load limiters kept the loads recorded by the dummies’ instrumentation low. However, the driver’s legs struck the steering column and adjuster lever, increasing the risk of him suffering injuries. The footwell showed little deformation or intrusion and control of the foot pedals was good.

Side Impact

An impressive side impact protection system which includes seat mounted thorax airbags and a head curtain airbag, which also protected those sat in the rear. Maximum points were achieved in the side and pole tests.

Child Protection

Apart from a non-permanent pictogram sited on the passenger’s end of the fascia, there were no warnings against placing a child in a rear facing restraint opposite an active airbag. The restraint recommended for the 3 year old was an Opel branded Britax Romer Duo Plus, fitted forward facing using the car’s ISOFIX anchorages and top tether. For the 18 month old child, an Opel branded Britax Romer Baby Safe Plus was fitted rear facing and secured by the adult belt. The children were reasonably well protected although, in the frontal impact, the chest load on the older child and the neck load on the younger child were a little high.

Pedestrian Protection

The car’s front offered reasonable protection, gaining just over 16 points. The Zafira’s bumper met test requirements and the bonnet top gave cushioning where a child or adult pedestrian’s head would most likely strike it. However, the bonnet’s leading edge gave no measurable protection.

Model History & Safety Equipment

The latest Zafira features dual frontal airbags, side airbags, head-protecting airbag (curtain) front belts with pre-tensioners and load limiters, ISOFIX anchorages and top tethers to rear outer seats, driver’s belt reminder and ABS.