Euro NCAP has just published the crash test results of the Renault R5 E-Tech, the most anticipated electric city car of the year, which had to be up to par from a road safety point of view. Unfortunately, it disappointed the European rating body.
We learned the news in a press release this Wednesday, December 4. The new Renault R5 E-Tech, whose Euro NCAP crash test results were more than expected to give it a rating in terms of road safety, has just unlocked its secret. The independent body, responsible for benchmark measurements for crash tests in Europe, described itself “slightly disappointed with the performance of the cars in crash tests with adult occupants”this is how the electric R5 and its variant from Alpine, the A290, both obtained a rating of 4 stars out of 5.
This might sound good, but the absence of five stars is a real disappointment, because it indicates that in certain situations, the new electric R5 is not capable of fully protecting its occupants. In this case, the Euro NCAP organization spoke of a safety problem for adult occupants, with a score of 80%. The main problem would be in the event of a frontal impact, where Euro NCAP judges the protection of the driver's torso with the steering wheel to be “average”. The driver's and passenger's knees and shins aren't in the green either. The R5 also lost points in the event of a side impact for the passenger, with a car coming from the opposite side.
The other minus points concern active safety equipment such as emergency braking, with a small problem in the event of children running across behind the Renault 5 at night. The design of the car would also be a problem at the front, in the event of an impact with a pedestrian at the level of the fenders or the windshield pillars due to the fact that the car's hood is quite short. Finally, Euro NCAP noted the absence of a cyclist or pedestrian warning if the door is opened. Overall, the R5 scored 76% for pedestrian and cyclist vulnerability, and 68% for safety assists.
An impact for the R5 as Car of the Year 2025?
Renault thus classifies its new R5 in the same category as the new Captur, the Symbioz, or even the Kangoo. Otherwise, the Renault Espace, Mégane E-Tech, Scenic E-Tech, Rafale and Austral all obtained the maximum rating of 5 stars. However, their ability to protect other road users has never reached new heights. Until 2022, Euro NCAP offered a ranking of its best rated models. There were, for example, the Tesla Model S, the Model Y, and the Hyundai Ioniq 6. A real spotlight for electric cars. The big question now will be whether Renault's R5 E-Tech could be impacted by this rating for the jury's decision for the 2025 Car of the Year election.
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