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| Image by harry_nl via Flickr |
The Lancia Thema and Fiat Freemont have
won the prestigious five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. Five stars is the
top score that this independent consortium has been awarding since 1997
after testing vehicle safety. In the same evaluation session the Lancia
Voyager achieved four stars - just verging on the potential five -
which is a significant improvement compared to the model tested in 2007.
The rating is even more important
considering that since 2009 Euro NCAP has adopted a new scheme composed
of four areas of assessment, namely Adult Occupant, Child Occupant,
Pedestrian Protection and a new area: Safety Assist. Injury avoidance
and mitigation functions, such as seat belt reminder, ESP and speed
limiter, are also rated. Achieving a five-star rating will become
increasingly tougher year by year (2009, 2010-2011, 2012).
This major accolade yet again confirms
the Fiat Group's special commitment to all aspects relating to the
protection of all road users. The outstanding results achieved coincide
with the adoption of the most highly advanced electronic devices (some
available as standard equipment) that increase vehicle safety because
they constantly help the driver reduce accident risk. They include
traction control, panic braking assisted by the differentiated
electronic management of the braking system, adaptive speed control, and
forward collision warning that notifies the driver when the distance
from the vehicle in front is insufficient for the speed at which he is
travelling. And there's still more! The camera installed on the rear
view mirror eliminates blind spots, a system automatically levels the
front headlights, the pedal unit is adjustable to provide optimum
driving position comfort and an extremely important system automatically
monitors the tyre pressure.
In short, protection is total, as
demonstrated by the 6 airbags supplied standard (two of which are
Multistage) on the Freemont and Voyager models, and 7 on the Lancia
flagship; and the three-point seat belts with double pretensioners and a
double load limiter level. Without forgetting the contribution to
occupant protection provided by the body, the bonnet, the doors and the
dashboard crossmember, in addition to the seats and steering column.
Special attention has then been paid to
pedestrian protection. All three vehicles are fitted with an innovative
system that detects impact against the pedestrian's leg. In only a very
few thousandths of a second it raises the bonnet to offer a surface
without rigid points underneath, which minimises risks of injuries to
the pedestrian's head. Moreover, all three models have front seats
equipped with a mechanism that brings the headrest up against the heads
of the front occupants in case of a rear impact. This considerably
reduces the risk of injury caused by whiplash.
Thousands of hours of virtual
simulations, tests on components and subsystems, more than 200 impact
simulations on the Hyge slide shock test simulations and more than 80
crash tests (frontal impact, side impact, roll-over and shunting, taking
various speeds, different types of obstacles and the need to protect
occupants physically very different from one another into account) have
been run for each model. These are the figures that bear witness to the
care the company lavishes on building the Fiat Freemont, Lancia Thema
and Lancia Voyager, all vehicles at the top of the segment in terms of
safety, just like the other models the group produces.
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