No image car front available

The Frontera is now an old design and couldn't cope in the frontal test. But its height helped it protect acceptably in the side impact. The frontal impact badly damaged the Frontera's body and left it unstable. The steering wheel was driven back, increasing the chances of chest injury for the driver. He also risked leg injuries. The restraints did not fully protect the children in either test. Finally, protection for pedestrians was poor; the vehicle makes too little provision for their safety.

Front impact
The driver was put at risk by the collapse of the driver's survival space above and below him. The vehicle's body became unstable and the footwell suffered substantial intrusion.The footwell ruptured and the pedals moved a fair distance, creating hazards for the driver's feet and lower legs. There were hard points behind the fascia that posed a hazard to the driver's knees, but the passenger's knee area was clear. A two point lap-belt fitted to the rear centre seat gave markedly worse protection than a three-point seat belt fitted there would.

Side impact
The Frontera's height means that the impact force here goes substantially beneath the driver. This means that, although the model tested had no side airbags, it nonetheless protected its driver comprehensively, safeguarding all head and body zones assessed.

Child-protection
Both children were carried in the same type of Opel-branded restraints. Testers noted that protective shields were included but it was not made clear how these should be used with the belt lock-offs. The instructions fitted on the seats could be removed too easily. It was difficult to assess how well protected the children's heads were in the front and side impacts so the Frontera was given the benefit of any doubt. However, impact forces acting on the children were relatively high in the frontal impact so the quality of the protection they received was questionable.

Pedestrian protection
Protection offered for pedestrians by the Frontera proved to be dire. This is an old design and Euro NCAP has urged Opel to improve safety on the next model.