gaz26 said:I think this is a real concern, it would put me off buying the car. With all the hype from BMW they have failed one of the major tests for a car getting safety absolutely correct. With so many cars getting 5 stars these days a 4 star rating is not good enough in my view
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/bmw-i3-fails-get-five-star-safety-rating
i3me said:gaz26 said:I think this is a real concern, it would put me off buying the car. With all the hype from BMW they have failed one of the major tests for a car getting safety absolutely correct. With so many cars getting 5 stars these days a 4 star rating is not good enough in my view
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/bmw-i3-fails-get-five-star-safety-rating
The perspective of the author is not that the i3 is unsafe, but that BMW have overlooked a few details which would have scored more points in the NCAP assessment, thereby falling short of the 5 star rating. What the NCAP assesment missed is a rear seat belt warning light and a too sharp front hood edge, potentially causing more injury to a pedestrian, if hit. The integral safety of the car surpasses the norm in a side-on pole collision and if the car is fitted with the Approach Control Warning (part of the Driving Assistant Plus pack (5AT) will actively avoid a frontal collision, even with a pedestrian!
I think we're talking about a very safe car here!
gaz26 said:i3me said:gaz26 said:Not a car I would want to drive
gaz26 said:Should owners be concerned by the NCAP results showing such poor protection for pedestrians? Given the near silent running of an electric car and the expectation most of its work will be in the city how do the engineers at BMW design a car that NCAP shows would probably not be a good experience for a pedestrian if hitting one.
The i3 is not exactly an object of beauty like a Ferrari so what has gone wrong here?
It also appears in efforts to maybe save weight the seats and headrests may not be optimal in terms of top safety, hence the NCAP comments about whiplash?
AndrewDebbie said:I would be surprised if BMW does not correct some of the problems and submit an i3 for reassessment.
Mercedes recently did this with the Citan van after it scored only 3 stars. (4 now)
gaz26 said:AndrewDebbie said:I would be surprised if BMW does not correct some of the problems and submit an i3 for reassessment.
Mercedes recently did this with the Citan van after it scored only 3 stars. (4 now)
Yes I agree will also be interesting to see how the US Authorities rate the car and if BMW make last minute changes to the spec.
The absolute key aspect here however will be what happens in crash situations and whether the NCAP comments about things like poor whiplash protection are proven
Governments need to take a closer look at poor pedestrian protection from electric cars given their silent running.
i3me said:An i3 need not be resubmitted by BMW for crash testing if the only changes are in the standard specs, ie that a rear seatbelt warning and the speed notification system are made standard equipment. The i3 will receive the 5 star rating starting from the VIN for which it is valid.
It already has good NCAP scores and nothing need be re-engineerd to achieve the 5 star rating
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