Is the Renault Zoe with zero star rating really unsafe?

The sound of the blow is truly deafening. We are there live when a Renault Zoe hits the wall at 65 km/h in the technical center of the manufacturer near Paris in the summer of 2012. The result of the later official Euro NCAP crash test is a reward for all the efforts: the new, compact EV scores five stars; it couldn’t be better. Now almost ten years later, the Zoe has become more or less a classic and a bestseller among the EV models. There are already almost half a million Zoe’s around the world. But now something miraculous has happened: in the autumn of 2021, the latest version of the Zoe received zero stars from the international testing organization Euro NCAP. From hero to big loser, how is that possible?

Beyond the legal requirements

For decades, Euro NCAP has awarded a maximum of five stars after a number of crash tests. In recent years, almost all cars have been awarded four or five stars and thus this rating has become less meaningful. The safety equipment that the manufacturer offers for the model on the individual markets also plays a role in this star rating, from airbags to the so-called accident avoidance systems. Euro NCAP emphasizes again and again that the star rating goes beyond the legal requirements. In this way, the inspectors want to put pressure on the manufacturers to build in more safety in the cars than is prescribed. A car that only meets the legal minimum requirements does not receive a star. However, this also means that a poorly rated car is not necessarily unsafe, but not as safe as its better rated competitors.

In short, zero stars in the Zoe’s case doesn’t necessarily mean Renault built a crappy car. It does show that the manufacturer has not responded to the increasingly strict requirements of the safety investigation. Six years after the last review, models are losing their old stars. The example of the Renault Zoe shows that the customer can ‘buy’ safety. Decisive for the zero-star rating was the lack of an emergency braking system in the basic version. That led to zero stars in the ‘safety systems’ category, and therefore automatically to zero stars in general. With a more luxurious version of the Zoe, customers can order the emergency braking technology as an option and then they would own a car with several Euro NCAP stars.

No commercials

The French have always been proud of their safe cars. Their very good crash test results were an important part of their advertising campaigns. The Zoe with its zero stars hits Renault like a sledgehammer. The cheap electric Spring from sister brand Dacia is also not much better rated with one star. Even with an emergency brake assist in the base model, the Zoe wouldn’t have been a five-star car like it was in 2013. The testers also criticized the fact that parts of the dashboard penetrate the interior in a frontal impact. Because Renault omitted the head/side airbag in the youngest Zoe, the Renault also disappoints in side collisions and in the crash test against a pole. The reason for this stinginess? According to internal investigations, there has not been one instance of a tree or lamppost accident in the way Euro NCAP simulates in the crash tests. After the zero star rating, Renault now regrets this decision. According to accident investigator Siegfried Brockmann (see the interview below), the manufacturer “should have been aware of the outcome for the Zoe in advance”. The assessment criteria are transparent.

The newer Dacia Spring also made no impression

Default

In any case, the French react to the lack of the emergency braking system. As of March, the feature will be standard on all versions of the Zoe. A Renault spokesman also defends the Dacia with one star. According to the company, it is a “safe car”. Of the overwhelming number of cars that received five stars in 2021 (see table), some models will have to fear their top ranking in a few years. In its ‘Roadmap 2025’, Euro NCAP announces that automated driving functions will be included in the assessment in the future. Accident investigator Siegfried Brockmann is particularly critical of level 3 autonomous driving, which Mercedes-Benz will soon offer for speeds of up to 60 km/h. Level 3 (highly automated driving) means that a car accelerates, overtakes and brakes independently and that the driver can temporarily read or focus on the children in the back seat. For Brockmann, the transition from driver to vehicle responsibility and back is the most problematic.

For example, if the driver sits with his back to the direction of travel in an accident, a collision will result in a very different injury. In such tests, even the most modern crash test dummies reach their limits. On the other hand, as Euro NCAP describes in its future scenarios, virtual computer simulations allow a much more accurate assessment of injuries than the conventional crash test dummies. The times of the deafening crash noises in crash test halls would then be over.

Uniform rules

The Euro NCAP organization is and remains an important instrument on the way to ‘Vision Zero’, a world with (almost) no road deaths. Tightening up the safety requirements is fine in itself, which keeps the pressure on the car manufacturers. However, testing and evaluation must be carried out according to globally uniform rules. And: the award of stars must be understandable and unambiguous.

Siegfried Brockmann, head of crash investigation UDV

Expert view

What does it really mean if a car gets zero stars? What about those Euro NCAP tests? We ask Siegfried Brockmann, head of crash investigation at UDV, a German alliance of insurers.

From five to zero stars. How can that happen with the Renault Zoe?

“Creating even more categories in which a car is judged makes it even more difficult to meet the requirements of Euro NCAP. In the past, five stars were awarded faster; nowadays even four stars mean that a car is very safe. However, the technical possibilities for protecting occupants and pedestrians have also increased and Euro NCAP must respond to this.”

Does the Zoe result come as a surprise?

“No, every manufacturer is familiar with the more advanced Euro NCAP standards. So Renault could have known in advance what the result would be for the Zoe. The fact that the manufacturer now includes the emergency braking assistant as standard on all versions only shows that Euro NCAP is doing what it is supposed to do.”

How unsafe is a car with zero stars?

“Of course, zero stars does not mean that the model is catastrophically unsafe. However, the result shows that the model clearly lags behind modern cars.”

Mercedes brings level 3 autonomous driving up to 60 km/h on the road. What do accident investigators think about this technology?

“We at UDV look critically at level 3. It is the most dangerous level of automated driving. The transfer of responsibility from the driver to the vehicle and back is a particular problem here. At level 2, things are clear: the driver must always be on the lookout and have his hands on the wheel. At level 4 it is also clear: the car can also drive without the driver. But at level 3, which goes beyond a pure traffic jam assistant, i.e. at speeds over 60 km/h, it becomes dangerous when the driver has to take responsibility by surprise, but is busy with something else. However, this discussion is also ongoing at Euro NCAP.”

In a survey on autobild.de, only 15 percent of participants indicated that crash safety had no influence on the purchase decision.

“Euro NCAP is and will remain very important, because the organization puts pressure on the manufacturers. Legislation is far too slow in this regard. However, this does not mean that you should not critically check whether zero stars in one category automatically leads to an overall rating of zero stars.”