Euro NCAP has released its first batch of crash-test results for 2019, with the Mercedes-Benz G-Class bagging a full five stars for safety.
The new-generation Geländewagen scored 90 percent for adult occupant protection and 83 percent for child occupant protection, while also managing 78 percent for vulnerable road-user protection and 72 percent for its standard safety assistance technology.
A left-hand-drive version of the G350d (not currently offered in South Africa) was tested, although the results cover the petrol-powered G500 and flagship Mercedes-AMG G63 as well.
Production of the new G-Class kicked off in Graz, Austria back in May 2018. Since 1979, Magna Steyr has produced the G-Class on behalf of the Stuttgart-based brand.
Euro NCAP furthermore evaluated the latest Honda CR-V (in petrol-hybrid form) and the new Seat Tarraco (which runs on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform), both of which also scored five stars for safety.
Michiel van Ratingen, the safety authority’s secretary general, commended all three vehicles for being equipped (in Europe, at least) with pedestrian and cyclist autonomous emergency braking systems, saying it “really demonstrates the power of consumer testing not only to encourage better performance but also to promote new technologies as standard-fit across Europe”.
Watch the G-Class being put through Euro NCAP’s various crash-test procedures in the video below…