The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has been around for nearly 30 years. Since its first evaluation in 1997, it’s tested hundreds of cars through crash tests and pedestrian safety evaluations. But the organization says it’s never come across a problem like this.
Euro NCAP recently did a full sweep of tests on the MG 3, a Chinese-built small hatchback. The routine involved five full-scale crash tests: a 50-percent front-overlap crash, a full-width frontal impact, a side impact crash, a pole test, and a whiplash test. During that first test, Euro NCAP says the MG suffered a seat latch-related failure that caused the crash test dummy to experience more forces on its right side than expected.
Specifically, the right side of the seat rail latch became loose in the impact, says Euro NCAP. Here’s what it had to say:
During the frontal offset crash test, Euro NCAP’s engineers found that the driver’s seat latching mechanism failed. Such a seat adjuster failure has not been seen before in Euro NCAP testing, which has assessed hundreds of passenger vehicles since it began work in 1997.
The failure of the latching mechanism caused the driver’s seat to twist partway through the impact. This movement led to elevated forces on the dummy’s right leg, with protection for that body region assessed as ‘poor’. The seat failure also meant that MG could not demonstrate how well the car would protect the knees and femurs of occupants of different sizes or those seated in varying positions.
Having a seat that’s properly attached to the rest of the car is a pretty low bar. Still, it’s not totally unheard of. Just two years ago, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) discovered the 2024 Kia Carnival’s rear seats could detach during a side impact crash. Kia quickly fixed the problem with stronger mounting points (though ironically, the updated car still earned a “Poor” rating from the IIHS because the safety cell didn’t hold up well).
Euro NCAP says MG initially tried to point the blame in the testing firm’s direction, but according to the organization, it checked the latches before sending the car to its final destination.
Euro NCAP shared its findings with MG, which initially argued that the failure was due to improper latching of the seat before the test. However, as is standard procedure, the seat’s latching had been checked before testing was conducted. MG has subsequently committed to improving the design of the seat latch mechanism to ensure it remains robust in the event of an impact.
In addition to the seat problem, Euro NCAP also found that the dummy’s head “bottomed out” the front airbag, making contact with the steering wheel. That lowered the car’s head protection to “adequate.” MG told Euro NCAP it plans to make changes to the latch and the airbag for vehicles built going forward, though strangely, it doesn’t plan to add these updates to existing cars already in the hands of customers. The company did not immediately respond when reached for comment by The Autopian. If I get a response, I’ll be sure to update this article.
Here’s the weird part: Despite the seat latch failure and the weak airbag leading to an increased risk of injury, the MG 3 still received four out of five stars from Euro NCAP as a result of these tests. How’s that possible? Thankfully, the testers themselves realize the results are a bit ridiculous:
Despite the seriousness of the issue, which raises questions about how well the 3 can protect its driver in the event of an impact, Euro NCAP’s scoring system does not currently allow for a deduction or override in the case of such a component failure. As a result, the MG 3 still qualifies for four stars, thanks to its performance in other areas.
[…]
While Euro NCAP’s current assessment protocols are designed to reward consistent, all-round protection, this case illustrates a rare gap in the scoring framework. Despite the highly unusual failure of a critical safety component, the car’s relatively strong performance in other areas allowed it to retain a four-star overall rating.
Euro NCAP will review this aspect of its protocols, particularly considering manufacturers choosing not to rectify or improve failed safety elements.
The MG 3’s results are just proof that even after 28 years of crashing cars into objects, there are still blind spots in crash testing that pop up from time to time. Instead of simply sticking to its rules and burying its head in the sand, Euro NCAP is being rational about all of this and taking a hard look in the mirror.
On its surface, a 4/5 rating means a car is fairly safe—the Euro-market BMW 1 Series received the same rating just recently. Except that car’s seats stayed in place during a crash. With some surface-level research, the average buyer probably wouldn’t know the difference. So clearly, the tests need some adjustment. Let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later.
The post How Did This Chinese-Built Car Do So Poorly In A Crash Test And Still Get 4-Out-5 Stars? appeared first on The Autopian.
