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Volvo PR failure

I cringe when I see this video. Was supposed to showcase Volvo's automatic stopping feature. However, as you can see, things didn't go as planned.

You want to get into the news but for the right reasons. Well, I am sure Ford UK is not happy with the reports that the brand leads in MOT (the mandatory road testing for vehicles more then 3 years old to ensure that they meet road safety and environmental standards) failure rates.

This is the first time in history that it has been released following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by the BBC.

Apparently theFord Transit Connect had the highest failure rate at 30.5%, followed by the Renault Megane and the Ford Transit.

I am not surprised that the Toyota Corolla had the lowest failure rate with just 11.2%.

The data is now available for free on the VOSA website in the PDF format (1,200 pages).

Electric cars tested in the UK

The CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium is currently testing a total of 340 electric cars across the UK. This includes the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Jaguar Land Rover's _e electric/diesel hybrid, LTI’s TX4E taxis, Mercedes Benz/Smart FourTwo electric drive, Tata Indica Vista EV and the hydrogen-powered Microcab.

The Microcab

The test seeks to find out how how practical these electric cars under real life conditions would be - this include how they are used and charging information. Recharging points will be provided by Birmingham and Coventry City Councils and Eon. Birmingham University’s hydrogen refuelling station will also be available.

Researchers from Aston University will be analysing the data generated.

Interestingly out of the total cars that will be tested for a year, 110 will be based in Birmingham and Coventry. 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars were passed to test drivers in the West Midlands with the rest will be given to lucky drivers, specially selected by Coventry University researchers. Hope I am one of them.

Safety test results for some family cars

Euro NCAP recently released the test results for seven cars in five different categories. The cars, which are targeted at consumers with families, include the Audi A4, Skoda Superb, Citroen Berlingo, Ford Kuga, the VW T5 Caravelle and two Superminis, the Hyundai i10 and the Seat Ibiza.

All of the cars received four stars in Child Occupant Protection. SO far, no car has received the maximum of 49 points or five stars.

The Child Occupant rating was introduced in November 2003 and is based on the evaluation of the manufacturer’s recommended child restraints for an 18-month infant and a 3-year old child.

For more information, go to www.euroncap.com.

Jaguar XF on Top Gear tomorrow

James May tests the new Jaguar XF on Top Gear tomorrow (Sunday) at 8pm on BBC Two. Really looking forward to watching it.

Euro NCAP test results for the Nssan X Trail

I have always liked the Nissan X trail and I was quite surprised when I learnt that it had only achieved four stars in adult occupant protection test conducted by Euro NCAP recently.

Read the full results of the test here on the Euro NCAP site.

Smart ForTwo receives 4 stars in safety test

The Smart ForTwo supermini received four out of five stars in Euro NCAP’s Adult Occupant protection rating. It was not assessed for child protection as it doesn't have any rear seats.

However, it only received 2 stars for Pedestrian Protection.

Check out Smart's Road to Enlightenment site.

Latest Euro NCAP's test results for the Hyundai I-30, the Ford Mondeo, the Volkswagen Caddy ‘Life’ and the Volkswagen Tiguan

Euro NCAP had released the crash test results for the Hyundai I-30, the Ford Mondeo, the Volkswagen Caddy ‘Life’ and the Volkswagen Tiguan.

Small Family Car