Crashing disappointment for BMW, while Born gets high five

Two new electric cars have been through the independent crash test regime at Euro NCAP and the results may come as a surprise.

While the Cupra Born achieved the highest five star rating, the more expensive BMW i4 missed out on the top rating and could only manage a four star result.

As part of the Volkswagen Group, the Cupra Born is the sporty version of the Volkswagen ID.3 which has already received five stars on the Euro NCAP tests. As expected, the Born scored highly on adult occupant safety, with good protection against whiplash for front and rear passengers and good protection against injuries from other passengers. There’s also an eCall system that calls the emergency services in the event of a crash, while the vehicle applies the brakes after impact to avoid secondary collisions.

Born to be trialled - Cupra did well in tests

The Cupra scored lowest on its vulnerable road user protection at 73%, as there were some areas that offered poor head protection on impact for pedestrians or cyclists. The safety equipment tested comes as standard on all Born models.

The i4 however, failed to achieve the highest safety rating, falling down due to its vulnerable road user protection and safety assist features. Adult and child occupancy were both rated at 87%, with good or adequate protection from impact, and an eCall system to alert the emergency services in the event of an accident. Unlike the Cupra Born, the i4 will not apply the brakes after an incident, meaning the car is at greater risk of a secondary collision, according to NCAP.

The i4 was strong in crash tests, but let down by tech

To protect pedestrians and cyclists the i4 has an active bonnet that uses sensors in the bumper to detect if someone has been hit. The bonnet then lifts to provide greater clearance from hard surfaces under the panel.

But the safety assist systems were where the i4 was really dragged down, scoring the lowest at 64%. The emergency lane keeping assistance was marginally acceptable but the main lane keeping assistance was good. The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system of the i4 can detect vulnerable road users, as well as other vehicles, but the system was only described as performing ‘adequately’ in tests of its response to pedestrians and to cyclists.