Opel/Vauxhall Astra

The passenger compartment of the Astra remained stable in the frontal offset test.  Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger.  Opel showed that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions.  In the full-width rigid barrier test, protection of the front and rear passenger dummies was good for all critical parts of the body except the chest, protection of which was adequate.  Dummy readings indicated good protection of all critical body areas in both the side barrier impact and the more severe side pole test.  However, in the side barrier impact, the rear door on the struck side became unlatched and the car was penalised.  Opel are investigating the cause of this unlatching.  The front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injury in Euro NCAP's tests while a geometric assessment of the rear seats indicated the same level of protection to the occupants of those seats.  The Astra has an autonomous emergency braking system which operates from the low, city speeds at which many whiplash injuries are caused.  However, as the system is not standard equipment, its low-speed performance did not qualify for assessment.