Nissan's Navara pick-up has recorded one of the worst Euro NCAP crash test scores in the test's history, according to results released yesterday. Paddy Comynreports.
Euro NCAP, which undertakes independent crash tests of vehicles and then grades them using a star system, reported that the Navara received a one-star "strikethrough" out of a possible five, whereby its one-star result was downgraded, giving the Navara the worst recorded Euro NCAP result for adult occupant protection.
This is worse than the previous one-star recorded by the Rover 100, which was tested 11 years ago. Several superminis have recorded the full five-star score, including the new Fiat 500.
The Euro NCAP crash test report on the Navara pick-up stated that: "The Navara has been awarded a one-star rating as its performance in frontal impact did not reach the minimum level required for a higher rating. Moreover, the unacceptably high risk of life-threatening injury to the driver's head and the passenger's neck have led to that star being struck through."
Nissan, responding to the results, which were blamed on a software problem, said: "Nissan would like to emphasise that the airbag issue applies to a limited number of Model Year 2008 Navaras that were produced between May and December 2007. There is no issue with the airbag control unit on Navaras produced from launch in 2005 until May 2007."
Following consultation with Euro NCAP after the results of the first test, Nissan developed and, in December 2007, put into production a software update on the airbag control unit to ensure it performed exactly according to design specifications. "A service campaign was launched on all model year 2008 Nissan Navaras, where customers of the model year 2008 Navara were invited to their Nissan dealer to have updated airbag control settings applied to their vehicles," the company said in a statement.
Nissan has opted to expand the scope of the campaign to include all Nissan Navaras produced from launch. From last week, owners have been invited to visit their dealer to have the updated software applied.
Other vehicles tested included the Isuzu D-max pick-up, which received a two-star strikethrough, the Mitsubishi L200 pick-up, which scored four-stars, and the Citroën C5, which received the full five-star rating. The Suzuki Splash, Renault Kangoo, BMW X3 and Daihatsu Terios all received four stars.