Fiat 500 Gets Five Star Euro NCAP Safety Rating

EURO NCAP FIVE-STAR SAFETY RATING FOR FIAT 500

The Fiat 500 has just achieved the prestigious Euro NCAP five-star crash safety rating, (with a total of 35 points), so taking over top spot in its segment for safety.

This important award adds to those assigned recently to the Fiat Bravo and Grande Punto, and confirms the special attention Fiat Automobiles SpA pays to all aspects of driver and passenger protection.

This is the first time that a car of this size has achieved five stars and the 500 is now one of the safest vehicles on today’s roads. To achieve the rating, Fiat designers examined every possible type of accident: front and side impacts, roll-overs and rear-end collisions. The different speeds at which collisions take place, different types of obstacles and the protection of occupants with widely varying physical characteristics, were also taken into consideration.

The Fiat 500 offers, as standard, two dual stage front airbags, two front side airbags for chest/pelvis protection, two window-bags and a driver’s knee airbag. Front seat-belts with a double pretensioner and load limiter are also standard equipment.

As well as incorporating a high performance braking system, the Fiat 500 features ABS anti-lock brakes with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program). This sophisticated system is standard on the 1.4 16v version and an option on the other two versions (1.2 and 1.3 MultiJet).

The Fiat 500 is a car designed and built to achieve the highest levels of quality, as the safety award by Euro NCAP confirms. This total protection feature has contributed to the sales success of the model – since its launch this summer the car has already won over Italy and France, with around 70,000 orders to date.

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Today, Euro NCAP releases the results for two Superminis, the Fiat 500 and the Renault Twingo. Euro NCAP is also releasing the results for two more cars in the small family class, the Kia Cee’d and the Peugeot 308. Three out of the four car results being released today have achieved five star ratings for adult occupant protection.

The iconic Fiat 500, Euro NCAP is pleased to announce, received five stars in adult occupant protection with an overall score of 35 points, revealing that Fiat has not compromised safety, even when compromising the car’s size. Renault’s Twingo, the other supermini result released today, received a four-star result in adult occupant protection with an overall score of 28 points. No child protection rating is available for the Twingo as there was not enough space to fit Renault’s recommended child restraints in the rear seats with the front seats set to Euro NCAP’s test position for adults.

Euro NCAP is also greatly encouraged with the five star result achieved by the Kia Cee’d, as it is the first Kia to do so since Euro NCAP first tested this make of car in 2003. The Peugeot 308, the other small family car test result released today, received five stars in adult occupant protection and a higher result in pedestrian protection than the Kia Cee’d, with a three star score.

Euro NCAP’s Secretary-General Adrian Hobbs said ‘I am particularly happy to see the adult occupant protection results for the Fiat 500 and the Kia Cee’d. It is encouraging to see another small car offering high protection for its adult occupants. Congratulations also go to Kia for their first 5-star result. It is satisfying that manufacturers from all parts of the world are putting safety first.’

Today, Euro NCAP releases results for two cars in the Supermini category and two cars in the Small Family categories.

Euro NCAP’s commitment to consumers ensures that test results are released as soon as possible. Keep checking our website for details of forthcoming results.