Back in 2011, the European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) subjected the Opel (aka Vauxhall) Astra GTC to its battery of crash performance tests to rate the performance of the Delta platform-based three-door hatch in an accident. As with nearly all new Opel/Vauxhall and Chevrolet vehicles, the Astra GTC was up for the challenge, earning a maximum five stars and respectable scores for each subsection of the overall study:
Adult occupant: | 91% |
Child occupant: | 79% |
Pedestrian: | 50% |
Safety assist: | 71% |
Overall score: | 5 stars (of 5) |
Areas Of Concern
Euro NCAP found only three general areas of concern in regards to the safety of the Astra GTC. For starters, “dummy readings of rib compression indicated marginal protection of the chest area” in both the side and pole impact. In addition, the “passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward facing child restraint to be used in that seating position”, but the “information provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag is not sufficiently clear.” Finally, the organization found that protection was poor in all “areas likely to be struck by an adult’s head” during a collision with a pedestrian.
The Euro NCAP specified that it tested a left-hand-drive 1.4L petrol model in the Sport trim level, and that its ratings apply to all Astra GTCs.
As a reminder, the frontal impact test takes place at 64 Km/h (40 MPH) with 40 percent of the width of the car striking a deformable barrier. In the side impact, a mobile deformable barrier impacts the driver’s door at 50 km/h (31 MPH), while the pole test involves the car being propelled sideways at 29km/h (18 MPH) into a rigid pole.
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