Kangoo and Mokka get four-star safety rating

The new Renault Kangoo and Vauxhall/Opel Mokka achieve four-star Euro NCAP ratings, falling just short of the maximum five-stars mainly due to performance in lateral impact testing.

The electric Mercedes-EQ EQA receives the top rating based on the 2019 five-star rating of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, from which the vehicle is largely derived, while the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Volkswagen Tiguan, the eHybrid, is added as a variant to that car’s 2016 five-star rating.

The Kangoo and Mokka (both of which include electric options) gained strong results all categories in impact and crash avoidance testing, including Child Occupant Protection.

“These are family friendly cars, so it is really positive to see that young passengers are well protected,” Thatcham Research director Matthew Avery says.

“We saw good scores across all critical body areas of the child crash test dummies seated in the rear of the Renault Kangoo. And the small, off-road Mokka also performed well, especially in terms of the protection offered to child occupants during the side barrier impact.”

In terms of crash avoidance technology, the Kangoo also comes with a good autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, which successfully detected vulnerable road users and other vehicles.

“The crash tests showed that the cars offered less protection than we have seen in other similar vehicles when impacted in ‘non struck side’ testing, which measures dummy excursion and interaction,” Avery says.

“The restraint and airbag systems in both vehicles failed to prevent excursion, or the extent to which the adult dummy moves to the opposite side of the car in an impact. Similarly, interaction was an issue, with neither vehicle having a countermeasure in place to prevent occupant-to-occupant injuries.

“Most vehicles tested in 2021 do have centrally mounted airbags to contain occupants, which could have helped the Kangoo and Mokka towards stronger ratings. That being said, emerging from our latest and most rigorous testing with four stars is still a good result.”

The second-generation Opel Mokka marks the switch from the GM’s original Gamma II platform to the new Stellantis’ Common Modular Platform (CMP), also used for the latest Citroen C4 and ë-C4 rated earlier.

The Opel Mokka sits firmly in four-star territory with no AEB for cyclist protection, and also lacking a centre airbag.

“With the Kangoo, Renault has launched a respectable successor that performs well in general and lacks only a centre airbag as far as state-of-the-art protection is concerned,” Euro NCAP secretary general Michiel van Ratingen says.

“Stellantis seems to accept lower performance in general, and the new Mokka lacks some critical safety systems that have become increasingly commonplace by now.”