Euro NCAP: new tests dedicated to assisted driving unveiled

The independent Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program) mainly deals with the passive safety of outgoing cars, giving assessments to some characteristics (which are also often used by companies to sponsor their products as safe). With the arrival of autonomous driving, the institution has obviously prepared to be able to talk about this too, giving assessments to assisted driving. The latest gimmick to judge cars seems to be Highway Assist, a set of two criteria that allows us to understand how the car manages to drive itself "almost by itself" on long distances.

By combining the analysis of the adaptive cruise control (in practice the one that allows the car to adapt to the course of its lane) and the lane keep assistant (which allows the car to center itself in its lane), this test has been programmed in two phases to analyze the competence of the travel assistant and safety in case something goes wrong. Both ratings are given in hundredths, and only a full mark on both allows the car to boast unprecedented safety.

Assistance Competence: let's talk about the effectiveness of the Highway Assist, or how the car behaves during assisted driving. The various tests test the automatic reduction of speed close to curves, roundabouts or intersections, then with another vehicle and finally with a cut in the road (always of a vehicle). The real final test, however, tests how the car reacts to an obstacle, whether it helps the driver avoid it or does nothing. The vote also includes factors such as alerts to the driver. Safety Backup: if the car makes mistakes, however, emergency plans are needed. This is where this rating comes into play, which analyzes the behavior of the car in the event of a malfunction of the Highway Assist. The tests are carried out on the effectiveness of the alerts, the time it takes to be launched and the automatic braking, the last bastion in case something goes wrong. To date, the cars with the highest (very good) rating are the Audi Q8, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes GLE, while Ford Kuga has received a voucher. To follow moderately are Nissan Juke, Tesla Model 3, Volvo V60 and Volkswagen Passat, while Peugeot 2008 and Renault Clio have achieved the minimum.