That"s what the saloon...
That"s what the saloon will be called in China, where it made its show debut. The German maker had a trio of offerings on its Shanghai stand, the other two being the new 72mpg Polo BlueMotion and the Touran EcoFuel MPV. Running on natural gas, the latter produces 20 per cent less CO2 and 80 per cent less carbon monoxide than a conventional petrol-powered model.
Volkswagen"s Tiguan...
Volkswagen"s Tiguan has been awarded five stars for safety. The off-roader – on sale here in February – achieved a four-star rating for child protection and two-star pedestrian protection rating.
Euro NCAP engineers found the Tiguan had a strong yet lightweight body and deformable panels, which soak up the energy of an impact. The array of standard driver safety systems also contributed to the car’s impressive score.
But the news wasn’t quite so good for Hyundai’s new i30, as it fell narrowly short of the coveted five-star score. This is especially surprising given that the Kia Cee’d, on which the i30 is based, achieved the maximum rating.
While the passenger compartment remained stable in the simulated smash, the Hyundai lost points because the design of its dash poses a risk to front occupants’ knees. The i30 was awarded three stars and two stars respectively for child and pedestrian protection.
Another new model to be graded by Euro NCAP was Volkswagen’s Golf-based Caddy van. It gained an identical score to the Hyundai in all three tests.