A pair of wallet-friendly electric subcompacts – Renault Zoe and Dacia Spring – has recently been crash-tested by Euro NCAP. The former earned zero stars and the latter one out of five.
The Renault Zoe debuted in 2012 and received its latest refresh a couple of years ago. A year after that, Euro NCAP tested it and awarded it five stars for safety. The EV received 89% for adult protection, 80% for child protection, 66% for pedestrian safety and 85% for electronic aids.
The association has revised its methods and rating calculation formulas multiple times since that test, however. For its own part, Renault has downgraded the airbags in the Zoe for an unspecified reason, seriously worsening the results. In the test performed this week, the Zoe received the following safety ratings: 43% for the adults, 52% for the children, 41% for the pedestrians and 14% for safety aids. The board concluded that the overall protection provided was dismal enough to warrant zero stars out of five.
Despite being even cheaper, the Dacia Spring scored 49% in adult protection, 56% in children, 39% in pedestrians, and 32% in safety assists.