The Fiat Punto Just Received A Zero Star Euro NCAP Crash Test Rating

Euro NCAP has re-tested the ancient Punto - which is still on sale - using modern criteria, and it hasn't gone well...

13 Dec 2017

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.

The Fiat Punto Just Received A Zero Star Euro NCAP Crash Test 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

This whole saftey thing is just insane… This fiat did really well actually, it is a quite safe car…
They should concentrate on making getting the license (mostly the practical side of the test) about 150 times harder, so those dumb barbie giersl who know crap about cars wouldn’t pass it.
It would reduce the pollution and increase the saftey a lot.

And make it harder for the boy racers who think they’re professional racing drivers, despite the fact that they drive with only one hand on the wheel.

Safety standards changed quite a lot in past 12 years, it really shows how safe modern cars are. As for license, I agree

Why do electronic safety assists matter? This is a test of how bad a crash would be, not how likely you are to crash! A good driver in this is better than Maldonado in a Volvo XC90 or Mercedes S class.

Because active safety assists will automatically protect you in a crash and in a lot of cases can react before the driver even registers the fact that something is wrong

You just answered your own question, my woke lad

because if a truck hits your car on the side today, maybe a couple of warning lights will come on the dashboard.. and thats pretty much the only difference..

So, it took over 10 years to test punto

As it says - by the Time it was release it had 5 stars. Standards have changed and so did the rating. By todays standards it has 0 stars.

I love how many people claim the car to be safe because of what the video shows… It’s not how safe it looks, it’s the data that matters. And the data doesn’t look really good. In the full width barrier crash the protection of the chest of rear passengers was weak, the protection of the neck marginal. In a rear-end collision the protection of the neck was marginal for back seat occupants and poor for front seat occupants. In 2005 those values would have been okay, but by today’s standards they simply aren’t. The pedestrian protection is rather weak too and not having any safety assists (even side airbags are only optional) isn’t fitting for 2017 either. I can fully understand that rating and I’m a Fiat/Abarth fan after all…