Five stars for C6

Newswheel staff :: 28 November 2005 :: Filed under Saloon, Citroen, Citroen C6, Europe & UK

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Citroen barge safe for all the family

Citroen’s new C6 flagship model has bagged a maximum score in the latest round of Euro NCAP safety tests. The big Frenchie not only scored a maximum five out five for adult passenger safety, but also becomes the first car to take home all four stars for pedestrian safety. The C6 rounded-out its full house of safety scores with a perfect four star child occupant result.

Key to the C6’s outstanding pedestrian safety performance is the car’s pop-up bonnet. Sensors detect when a front-end collision with a pedestrian is imminent and activate charges which lift the bonnet well clear of hard points in and around the engine bay. It’s the first such system assessed by Euro NCAP, but several upcoming models, including the new Jaguar XK, will offer similar capabilities.

The C6’s pop-up bonnet. A soft cushion of sheet metal.

The C6 aside, slightly less impressive results for a number of other new cars have also been announced. Bringing up the rear of the ratings is the Daewoo Matiz, which racked up a disappointing struck-through three star passenger safety rating thanks to “an unacceptably high risk of life-threatening chest injury” and the Jeep Grand Cherokee which confirmed that being mown down by an SUV can be seriously bad for your health. It scores precisely zero stars for pedestrian safety. For the rest of the results in full, hop on over to the Euro NCAP website.

An uncrashed Citroen C6. Yesterday.

Linkage:
Euro NCAP