Hi,

I'm about to order a vRS estate and have been mulling the safety of this car for some time (v. imp to us all).

In view of the 4 star NCAP rating, I initially thought this meant it was a "less safe" car than a 5 star car (you would, wouldn't you!:confused:), but now I'm not so sure.

I'm not entirely sure how the final marks are obtained. Does it make a difference what safety features the car has as standard, or is it all about performance in the crash tests in terms of structural strength etc?

This comment on the NCAP site related to the VW Golf made me think...

"The Golf achieved five stars when Euro NCAP allowed a re-run of the pole impact test after VW modified the curtain airbag’s packaging".

Suggesting a lower (4 star) rating was achieved before the repackaging of the airbag?

My point is, would an Octavia fitted with optional curtain airbags and active head restraints and a bit of better labelling (isofix etc) be a 5 star car? It appears from discussion on Briskoda that the car seems incredibly strong, and therefore safe, in every respect.

A final thought to support my hypothesis ...

If you look at the diagrams of the driver and passenger on the NCAP site and potential protection of these, the Octavia and the Golf are virtually identical! Suggesting occupants in both are similarly protected.

Plus, child protection is 4 star for both.

My own ponderings have led me to believe that the Octavia is a 5 star car if specced appropriately. I could be totally wrong though...

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Many thanks,

Steve.

My understanding is that the NCAP score is based on the equipment present in the vehicle under test. If you read some of the reports they sometimes say "this car was fitted with the optional >blah<" which may be a manufacturer's way of affecting the result.

The scoring isn't uniform though and part of it is its resistance in a crash and other aspects are does it have a seatbelt illumination sign, etc, etc. I usually just look at the diagrams of the dummies to decide how safe a car is

Chris

The Golf V gets 5 stars but has curtain air bags as standard, the Octavia they tested did not. Both our Octavias have curtain air bags fitted in addition to anti whiplash head restraints.

I wouldn't say they are now '5 star cars' but they are closer to it than a boggo Octavia.