The Fiat Punto Just Received A Zero Star Euro NCAP Crash Test Rating
Remarkably, Fiat still sells its ancient Punto in the UK. The car has been kicking around since 2005, which might make you wonder just how safe it is compared to more recently superminis. Wonder no more, as we have the answer: it’s way, way off.
It did just fine in its Euro NCAP crash test upon release, clocking five stars for adult occupants and three stars for child passengers, but as car safety has moved on, so have crashed tests. When put through the current, more stringent Euro NCAP test, the Punto managed…zero stars. That gives the little Fiat the dubious honour of being the first ever car to be given such a rating.
This time around it managed 51 per cent, 43 per cent and 52 per cent in the adult occupant, child occupant and pedestrian categories respectively. It was a zero per cent rating in the ‘Safety Assist’ category that sealed its fate as a zero star car - other than a seatbelt reminder, it doesn’t have much in the way of the preventative tech we’ve become accustomed to in modern cars.
Responding to the result, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK said:
“Safety is of the utmost importance to the FCA group. When Punto was launched 12 years ago, it was the first 5 star Euro NCAP car in its class. The importance of safety to the FCA group is demonstrated by the number of new models achieving 5 stars, for example Alfa Romeo Giulia, Alfa Romeo Stelvio and the Jeep Compass.”
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
As a owner of one of these I feel kinda uncomfortable now…..
Guys… first you should check how those stars system works and how it evolve recently. In past it was more focused on passive safety during crash, now to get good stars rating car needas to have things like active breaking, lane assist, esp etc etc. Moreover at one point they even changed which car version they are testing; fully equipped or basic one? That leads to situation when same car was loosing stars form one year to another only because of those changes…
yes, someone who understands!
Pathetic, I’d bet these are safer
Well, it appears as though older cars can take a huge beating when in smaller, non-structural deforming collisions, but they won’t do as well as modern cars in higher speed collisions. Vice versa for modern cars-they can survive large accidents nicely, but smaller ones and all sorts of things break!
I guess a car that was rated 5 stars by the NCAP in 2017 must go swiftly through the barrier, and swiftly out of the building. Considering this car gets rated 0 but seems perfectly safe.
I feel like “Bodies” by drowning pool should be playing over this video
Italian resident speaking: Italians, especially the elderly, have a blind faith on Fiat. They’ll buy anything made by Fiat.
The Punto is a 2000s chassis that they keep updating becauae Italians keep buying them. Other terrible cars italians buy just because its a “fiat” are the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Durango.
Where in Italy have you been? I live there yet I’ve never seen a Durango and maybe 3 Lancia-branded 300C’s so far… What you say is well true just for the least expensive cars they make (panda, punto, 500, qubo, dobló) and those Dodge SUV’s, the Freemont’s.
If that’s what a zero star looks like, I’d love to be in a 5 star rated car.
Really though, this is like judging a fish for its ability to climb trees. Of course it’s going to fail. It looks to me like it did pretty well in the impact tests, so as long as you can drive properly (thus not needing the electronic driving aids, the lack of which im sure caused it to fail), then you’ll be fine. Side curtain airbags would probably be nice too.
“so as long as you can drive properly (thus not needing the electronic driving aids, the lack of which im sure caused it to fail)” That’s one of the most used arguments against driving assists, but it completely ignores the fact that those electronic aids are already working more reliable than humans can. Yeah, it does depend on the human and his driving abilities, but even for the best drivers in the world there are other factors… Is the driver tired? Is he/she distracted? How is the visibility? All those factors don’t apply for electronic aids. And of course it’s relevant for a crash test, if you avoid the crash you’re safer than you could ever be in the event of the actual crash. And btw, the data of the crash test shows a rather poor result too, so it’s definitely not only the driving assists. The Fiat 500 is only 2 years newer, was re-tested too this year and managed to get three stars, so the Punto really is that bad
Living up to the legacy of the old Fiat 500 quite nicely, it seems
If this is a “zero” star rating by 2017 standards, the Euro NCAP is admitting they had tremendously poor standards in 2005…to go from 5 and 3 stars down to zero, wow.
Add a rollcage