The new Volkswagen ID.4 performed impressively in the renowned Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) safety test. With five stars, the Volkswagen brand’s first compact SUV based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB) ranks among the safest vehicles currently available.
Auditors gave the ID.4 good ratings on all criteria – for the protection of adult occupants, children and vulnerable road users, as well as in terms of assistance systems.
The assessment of occupant protection for adults is based on factors including frontal impact, lateral impact and whiplash tests. Based on these crash tests and the evaluation of measures to ensure that rescue and extrication are as rapid as possible, the ID.4 achieved 93% of the available points in relation to drivers and adult passengers. A result of 89% was determined for children.
These ratings are based on three important considerations. As well as examining the protection provided by child restraint systems in the event of a frontal or lateral impact, the assessment also scrutinised options in the vehicle for installing child seats of various sizes as well as the equipment a vehicle offers for the transportation of children.
In addition to occupant protection in vehicles, Euro NCAP also examines how well automatic emergency braking systems (AEB) can protect vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – in the event of an impending collision. The auditors equally attach great importance to other standard assistance systems. One of the positive things about the ID.4 is that all equipment variants come with the Lane Assist lane departure warning system and Front Assist emergency braking assistant as standard. The ID.4 also has a centre airbag for the front seats; this can help to reduce or, in the best case, prevent possible head contact between the driver and front passenger in the event of a side collision, for example.
Car2X is another piece of technology that every ID.4 in Germany has on board. It allows the vehicle to exchange information about local hazards with other vehicles and with traffic infrastructure, by means of the WLANp wireless standard. As early as in March 2020, Euro NCAP presented the innovative Car2X hazard-warning function with the Advanced Award in recognition of its pioneering equipment.
As an optional extra, Volkswagen offers further assistance systems that can increase comfort within their respective system limits.
With a score of 85% of the available points, the fully electric SUV from Volkswagen also put in an excellent performance in the Safety Assist category. The score for pedestrian and cyclist protection was 76%.
With five stars for the new ID.4, Volkswagen continues its story of success in Euro NCAP – most recently, the compact ID.3 achieved the top rating in October 2020.
