High-performance assistance systems make cars increasingly safer. In comparison, vans still have a lot of catching up to do. EuroNCAP and ADAC are therefore calling for improvement.
EuroNCAP and the ADAC traffic club have jointly examined the safety of the small vans up to 3,5 tons, which have been particularly numerous in everyday traffic, not just since Corona. 19 models covering 98 percent of the market were scrutinized. Many test persons revealed serious deficits in the security technology, which the testers believe offers a lot of potential for improvement.
A crash test carried out using Nissan NV400 and Nissan Juke as an example showed that a collision with a van has serious consequences for the other party involved in the accident. The ADAC therefore demands that vans should be equipped with active safety systems such as emergency brake assistants, which can prevent accidents or reduce the consequences of accidents. However, the investigation showed that there is a lot of catching up to do compared to the car sector. Many safety systems are generally not available in the small van series, some do not work as reliably and well as the testers know from the passenger car sector.
A new evaluation scheme with medals in different metal levels was devised for their series of tests to evaluate safety technology. When comparing the fully equipped vans, none of the candidates were able to achieve platinum and thus the highest rating. Three models received the gold medal: Mercedes Vito, VW Transporter and Ford Transit. Silver went to the Mercedes Sprinter, Opel Vivaro, Peugeot Expert, Ford Transit Custom and VW Crafter. Bronze went to Citroen Jumper and Jumpy, Peugeot Boxer, Toyota Proace, Fiat Ducato and Iveco Daily. Due to significant gaps in the safety systems, the Nissan NV400, Renault Trafic and Master, Fiat Talento and Opel Movano even fell out of the medal rankings and were rated as “not recommended” even with full equipment. When evaluating the standard versions of the vans examined, all models in the test should have been rated “not recommended”.
The EU Commission has also recognized the potential of the assistants, which is why it will require many systems for new vehicle types as standard equipment from 2022. However, the ADAC is already calling on manufacturers to increase the scope and performance of the systems to car level. Buyers of the vans should also ensure that they only choose vehicles with emergency brake assist.
