The new Citigo, an innovative city car from Skoda, has been given the highest possible safety rating of 5 stars by Euro NCAP.
Awarding the Skoda Citigo the highest number of points in its class, the independent crash-test experts at Euro NCAP praised the high safety standards of the vehicle, including its passenger, infant and pedestrian protection which each won a five star rating. The additional safety assistance systems of the Skoda Citigo were also singled out for praise.
The Skoda board member in charge of technical development, Dr Ing. Eckhard, responded to the good news saying:
"This excellent five-star rating confirms the Citigo's high level of safety. The development team has done outstanding work and it has proved that affordable, yet uncompromising safety is achievable even in the city car segment. The award by Euro NCAP is deserved praise for this great dedication."
In order to test the level of passenger protection offered by a vehicle, Euro NCAP assessments involve a range of frontal and side-on collisions, plus a pole collision test. The Skoda Citigo passed this with full marks, and also rated highly in the whiplash test, which measures the strain which would be put on the upper cervical spine in the event of a rear-end collision.
Other tests included child safety assessments to simulate the protection offered to a three year old child in each crash scenario.
The inclusion of belt-fastening reminders on all seats, plus the inclusion of head-thorax airbags as standard equipment, were also mentioned by the assessors as worthy of merit.
Perhaps the most unusual and innovative safety measure to be found on a Skoda Citigo, however, is something called 'City Safe Drive' - an active emergency braking assistant which has so far only been seen on three different vehicles in the City Car segment - the Citigo, the Volkswagen Up! and the SEAT Mii. This system helps to prevent crashes, or to mitigate their effects, at speeds of up to 18mph by using sensors to monitor other traffic and apply the brakes if a collision is imminent.
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