Renault Austral

The passenger compartment of the Austral remained stable in the frontal offset test. Dummy numbers showed good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger.  Analysis of the driver's side dashboard after the test revealed some areas which could be more injurious to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions.  Protection of the driver’s chest was rated as marginal, based on dummy readings of compression.  Analysis of the deceleration of the impact trolley during the test, and analysis of the deformable barrier after the test, revealed that the Austral would be a moderately benign impact partner in a frontal collision. In the full width rigid barrier test, dummy readings of chest compression revealed marginal protection of this body region for the rear passenger.  All other critical body areas were rated as good or adequate, both for the driver and rear passenger.  In both the side barrier test and the more severe pole impact, protection of all critical body regions was good and the Austral scored maximum points in this part of the assessment.  Limitation of occupant excursion - the extent to which the occupant is flung to the other side of the vehicle in a side impact - was rated as adequate. The Austral has a centre airbag as a counter-measure against occupant to occupant injuries in side impacts. In Euro NCAP’s test, the airbag performed well, with good protection of the heads of the front seat occupants.  Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injures in the event of a rear-end collision. A geometric assessment of the rear seats also indicated good whiplash protection. The Austral has an advanced eCall system to alert the emergency services in the event of a collision, but does not have a system that automatically to avoid secondary collisions.