Opel/Vauxhall Karl

The passenger compartment of the Karl remained stable in the frontal offset test. Examination of the high speed films and of the dummy traces showed that the head of the driver dummy was not stable on the airbag. There was insufficient pressure in the airbag to prevent the head from flattening it and the head made contact, through the deflated bag, with the steering wheel. Thereafter, the head was unstable and rolled off the steering wheel to one side. The score for head protection was penalised and its protection was rated as adequate. Dummy readings in the lower leg indicated marginal protection of this part of the body for the driver. In the full-width rigid barrier frontal impact, the driver's pelvis slid beneath the part of the seatbelt passing over the lap. This is known as 'submarining' and presents risks to the knee, femur and pelvis. The score for this body region was penalised and protection was rated as poor. In the side barrier test, the Karl scored maximum points with good protection of all body regions. However, in the more severe side pole test, dummy readings showed very high rib deflections and protection of the chest was rated as poor, indicating a high risk of serious injury.  Opel intend to make improvements to the chest protection in side impacts.  The front seats and head restraints showed a marginal level of protection against whiplash injury in the event of the rear-end collision. A geometric assessment of the rear seats indicated the same level of whiplash protection for the rear seat occupants. Autonomous emergency braking is not available on the Karl.