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10 December 2008
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Safety first
Renault’s new Mégane has achieved the joint highest-ever score in its Euro NCAP crash tests, achieving 37 points out of 37.
Safety features include twin side-impact sensors; six airbags, including two twin-chamber thorax/groin airbags; and the Renault system for restraint and protection, which combines pre-tensioners and load limiters with twin-stage dual-chamber adaptive front airbags.
Attention has been paid to protection against side impact, a major cause of accident fatalities. The dual side-impact sensors that first appeared in Laguna III have halved the time it takes the side airbags to trigger. Coupled with a new generation of bulkier curtain airbags, Renault said that occupants’ head protection has been improved by 30%.
Another feature is the fact that the dual-chamber thorax/groin airbags exert three times more pressure to the groin than to the thorax (the groin is more exposed to injury but able to withstand greater pressure than the chest).
The Mégane also has new headrests whose support rods slide into the headrest and not into the seat top where their rigidity was a hazard in a rear impact.
© PE Publishing, 10 December 2008
