Tesla Model 3 aces Euro NCAP safety tests

The Tesla Model 3 has set a “new benchmark” for safety-assistance technology in its Euro NCAP crash tests, scoring 94 per cent in this area in the course of achieving its five-star overall rating. 

The testers praised the Model 3’s “first-class” collision avoidance capabilities, and said the all-electric BMW 3 Series rival features autonomous emergency braking and forward-collision warning systems that show “high levels of performance.”

• What is Euro NCAP?

It wasn’t just safety tech where the Model 3 shone, though: with an adult occupant protection score of 96 per cent, only four cars have been judged to offer better protection in this area by NCAP in 2019. The Model 3’s child-occupant score of 86 per cent places it near the top of the field in this respective area, too.

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Matthew Avery, head of research at Thatcham Research, the UK organisation that crash-tests cars in conjunction with Euro NCAP, said that Tesla “has done a great job of playing the structural benefits of an electric vehicle to its advantage”, with the low centre of gravity that EVs offer combining well with the absence of a hard, inflexible engine up front.

Avery added: “The Tesla Model 3 achieved one of the highest Safety Assist scores we have seen to date.” While the Model 3’s safety assist score is not the highest ever awarded (the Volvo XC60 scored 95 per cent in 2017), it is the strongest result since Euro NCAP toughened up this area of its tests in 2018.

As well as the Model 3’s assessment, Euro NCAP’s latest batch of tests saw the Skoda Scala awarded five stars with a strong 97 per cent adult occupant score, while the DS 3 Crossback was rated at 96 per cent in this area. The 3 Crossback, as well as the Kia Ceed, were awarded five stars overall by NCAP, though this score only applies to the cars when optional safety packs are specified, and these are four-star cars in standard guise.

Click here to read our review of the new Tesla Model 3...