Volkswagen
Beetle
| Front and side impact rating |
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|
 |
Pedestrian test rating |
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Test Scores: Front 10(63%) Side 16(89%) Overall 26(76%) Pedestrian 14(39%)
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This
car has a solid, stable structure that gives good
all-round protection to its occupants. The side-impact
performance was impressive, earning it a high score.
Although the door opened in the side-impact test, this was
thought unlikely to happen in a real accident because the
test barrier caught and pulled the door handle as it
rebounded. The belts fitted in the rear could be switched
to provide better support for child restraints. But there
was no label to explain their use, so they were not used
in this manner in the test. Finally, protection offered
for pedestrian's legs is very poor and no test earned
points. |
Impact
Protection
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
| Driver
Front Impact |
Passenger
Front Impact |
Driver
Side Impact |
|
Frontal
Impact
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|
| The
car has twin front airbags and pre-tensioner seat belts
with load-limiting devices. Even so, the driver and front
passenger were subjected to reasonably high chest loads.
VW has put a great deal of effort into trying to protect
the knees and legs of front occupants. Under the steering
wheel, a composite steel plate with foam padding overlies
some very aggressive structures, and a steel bolster
protects other areas. However, it was judged that these
devices still posed sufficient threat to lose the car
points. |
Side
Impact
|
|
|
| The
Beetle's side-protection airbag worked well, supporting
the seat wing and the driver's chest. His ribs contacted
the seat wing and the airbag. There were foam blocks in
the door to transfer load onto the pelvis, but these were
not crushed in the impact. |
Child
Restraint
|
|
|
| There
was no clear warning in the car over the risk of death if
a rear-facing child restraint was used in the front
passenger seat. VW needs to take this risk seriously and
provide permanent warnings in the car. Two different
restraints were used in this test; both were recommended
by VW. The 18-month-old's restraint was rear-facing and
the three-year-old's used special (ISOFIX) mounting points
in the car. This restraint did not work well in the tests. |
Pedestrian
Protection
|
|
|
| Protection
given by the bonnet was reasonable, but upper- and
lower-leg protection was wanting and scored no points. |
Model
history and safety equipment
|
|
|
| The
new Beetle was launched in Europe during Nov '98. Standard
safety features include driver and passenger frontal and
side-impact airbags, front belts with pre-tensioners and
load limiters, ABS, electronic stability programme (ESP),
ISOFIX anchorages and power assisted steering. |
| Make,
model and hand of drive |
Volkswagen
Beetle LHD |
| Body
type |
2-door
saloon |
| Model
year |
1999 |
| Kerb
weight |
1228
kg |
| Cars
built on the same platform |
VW
Golf and Bora, Seat Toledo and Leon, Audi A3,
Skoda Octavia |
|
