[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=NzhUnv_2RTE[/youtube]


New shape


5 Stars for Adults 4 Stars for childs



Adult occupant protection








Child occupant protection

1.5 year old Child Britax Roemer Baby-safe
1.5 year Facing rearward
3 year old Child Britax Roemer Duo Plus
3 year Facing forward

Safety equipment

Front seatbelt pretensioners
Front seatbelt load limiters
Driver frontal airbag
Front passenger frontal airbag
Side body airbags
Side head airbags


Car details
Hand of drive LHD
Tested model Opel Astra 1.6 Enjoy
Body type 5-door hatchback
Year of publication 2004
Kerb weight 1240







Comments

The Astra is a very strongly scoring car, with a body that is extremely stable and provides good protection for occupants. Only two points were lost in the frontal impact and the side impact performance was impressive, too, and no points were lost. Protection for child occupants was also good and the child restraints meet almost all Euro NCAP performance limits. The three year old child restraint used ISOFix anchorages while the younger child’s used the adult belts to fasten the restraint to the car. Pedestrian protection was poor.

Front impact

The restraint system for the driver and passenger incorporated single stage tethered airbags, belt pre-tensioners and load limiters. These worked well, although loads on the driver’s chest were on the high side. The brake and clutch pedals are designed to break away, so reducing the risk of injury to the driver’s legs. Deformation at fascia level and intrusion into the footwell were minimal. There has been much design effort to increase protection for the driver’s knees and upper legs.

Side impact

A very impressive side impact protection system that includes seat mounted thorax and pelvis side airbags. The Astra also has a head curtain airbag fitted as standard to protect those seated in the front and in the rear.

Child-protection

The 3 year old used an Opel branded forward facing Britax Romer Duo Plus restraint while the younger child used a Opel branded rear facing Baby-Safe restraint. The children’s heads were fully protected in side and frontal impact but the neck load on the younger child and the chest load on the older child were on the high side. There was only a non-permanent pictogram on the passenger’s end of the fascia. It did not warn against placing a child in a rear- facing restraint opposite a passenger frontal airbag.

Pedestrian protection

Only two small areas of the bonnet top offered protection. But its leading edge and the car’s bumper proved to be very unfriendly. This was a disappointing result for a new design, and Euro NCAP urges Opel to take this vital safety area more seriously.



Old Shape

4 Stars for Adults


Frontal impact driver



Frontal impact passenger




Side impact driver



Safety equipment

Front seatbelt pretensioners
Driver frontal airbag
Front passenger frontal airbag




Car details

Hand of drive RHD

Tested model Opel Astra 1.6i Envoy

Body type 5-door hatchback

Year of publication 1999

Kerb weight 1100




Comments

The Opel Astra did well enough to earn four stars but there is scope to improve its side-impact protection. In this part of the test a rear door on the struck side came open and so the Astra would not have passed new regulations governing models launched after October 1998. It performed well in the front impact, providing unusually good protection for the driver’s legs. The child restraints were of an Opel design which Protection for pedestrians was poor, earning only a single star.

Front impact

The car’s structure remained stable and the driver’s airbag proved effective. The driver’s knees were well protected and the footwell kept his feet from harm. The impact caused little intrusion into that area and the pedals partly came away from their pivots to limit the risk of feet and ankle injuries.

Side impact

The driver’s head and chest were well protected but his abdomen and pelvis were exposed to increased injury risks. The manufacturer has told Euro NCAP that it will modify the Astra’s structure to address the problem.

Child-protection

A passenger airbag is standard so there is a real danger of death for any child in a rear-facing child restraint in the front. We believe that Opel should take this risk more seriously and provide better permanent warnings. The fixings for the one-and-a-half-year-old’s rearward-facing restraint were not fully compatible with the car’s rear belts, even though it was an Opel- branded item. An optional fixing system (Opelfix) overcame the problem. Unusually this seat also used a top tether to control its movement. Both restraints stopped their occupants from hitting the car’s interior in the frontal impact. However, the three-year-old’s head was not fully protected in the side impact.

[b]Pedestrian protection[/b

]The Astra’s front is very stiff and unforgiving and more than half of the places where a pedestrian’s head might strike following a crash were likely to cause injury. This area requires major improvement.