Euro NCAP testing gave the BMW 5 Series a top five-star safety rating while Fiat's updated Doblo got three stars.
Launched late last year, the seventh-generation 5 Series continues its successful track record in Euro NCAP's Executive Car segment.
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The car showed good all-round performance in crash protection and avoidance tests thanks to its new platform, body and updated safety features.
Track tests demonstrated that the autonomous braking system can effectively assist the driver in avoiding or mitigating critical rear-end crashes with other cars and pedestrians. With an 81% score, the 5 Series particularly impressed in pedestrian safety through its standard-fit 'Person Warning' system and active bonnet.
Thirteen years after the tests on the original Doblo, Euro NCAP has taken another look at the versatile small MPV. The latest generation Doblo was introduced in 2010 and is also sold by Opel and Vauxhall brands as the Combo.
The version tested by Euro NCAP is the 2015 Doblo facelift that includes, apart from small safety updates, cosmetic upgrades aimed at extending the lifecycle of the car. The three-star Euro NCAP safety rating, however, reveals the car's true age and highlights the lack of ambition to compete on safety with other, more modern competitors in the segment. The Opel/Vauxhall Combo has not received a similar facelift, so would be expected to end up with even fewer stars, but Opel have their eyes fixed on the future.
Euro NCAP's secretary general, Michiel van Ratingen, said, "Fiat's line-up now features several cars that have been on the market for a long time and their safety is well behind the class leaders. Opel have made a clear decision not to implement the changes that Fiat made to get to a three-star rating, but instead have focused their attention on a complete new Combo, that is being co-developed with Opel's new owners, PSA, and which Euro NCAP expects to test early next year. In this release, however, BMW has led the way with a new 5 Series that features lots of driver assistance systems which Euro NCAP believes will transform safety in the years to come."
