The Mercedes-Benz GLB Gets Top Marks In Euro NCAP Safety Tests
The newest Mercedes-Benz compact SUV has been awarded a solid five-star performance, after rigorous Euro NCAP crash and safety tests.
This may come as no surprise, as Mercedes-Benz have a great history of achieving high marks in past reports.
In a busy year for the company, the GLB becomes the sixth Mercedes-Benz to be rated this year, and the sixth to achieve the maximum safety rating.
The Euro NCAP
The European New Car Assessment Programme is an independent European car safety performance assessment programme. The Euro NCAP is designed to put a car through its paces, so that drivers may choose a car safe for them and their family, with assistance features that have been impartially tried and tested.
Focused on four key areas, the Euro NCAP report gathers an overall safety rating from various crash and safety tests performed on the car in question. The GLB endured several crash scenarios - frontal, rear and side tests.
The Mercedes GLB survived thorough crash testing, using dummies linked-up to provide impact readings, for analysis on both Adult Occupant Protection and Child Occupant Protection respectively.
The GLB also underwent Vulnerable Road User safety tests, such as detecting and stopping for unexpected pedestrians and cyclists.
In addition, the GLB’s Safety Assistance features were assessed, such as autobraking and lane support.
The Results:
Adult Occupant Protection
The Mercedes GLB scored high marks in the full-width rigid barrier test. This is when the vehicle collides (at 50km/h) head-on with a stationary object – the GLB demonstrated the top-level of protection to nearly all critical body parts, for both the driver and back seat passengers.
High marks were also awarded to the Mercedes-Benz in a side barrier impact test, protection of all critical body areas was good and the GLB scored maximum points.
Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-end collision. An assessment of the rear seats also indicated good whiplash protection.
The standard-fit autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system performed well in tests of its functionality at the low speeds, typical of city driving at which many whiplash injuries occur.
Additionally, the AEB system performed well in tests both of its pedestrian detection and its response to cyclists, with collisions avoided in nearly all test scenarios.
Child Occupant Protection
The GLB also achieved well through the Child Occupant protection tests.
For families, the GLB is designed to accommodate any child restraint system, especially since the front passenger airbag is automatically disabled when a rearward-facing child restraint is put in that seating position.
When the GLB was involved in a rear-end collision, the head restraints and seats provided good protection against whiplash for all smaller passengers.
Vulnerable Road User Protection
It was found that the Mercedes GLB achieved well in the Vulnerable Road User safety tests.
If a pedestrian was to be hit, the Mercedes GLB offered good protection to the head, over nearly the whole surface of the bonnet. The bumper also serves a good purpose, offering good protection to the legs and pelvis of a pedestrian.
The GLB’s Smart Brake Support system was also able to detect Vulnerable Road Users – the car identified pedestrians and reacted accordingly. The Smart Brake system performed well, and in most scenarios, accidents were subsequently avoided or eased so the impact was not as damaging.
Safety Assistance
The safety features included in the GLB scored a good 74% and the NCAP testing looked at the following:
- Lane Assist
- Speed Assistant System
- Smart Brake Support
- Seat Belt Reminder
Most whiplash injuries occur at in built-up, urban areas at low speeds – despite this, the Smart Brake Support system in the Mercedes GLB avoided all potential collisions that may haves occurred in the test’s scenarios, inhibiting any potential whiplash injuries or accidents.
Therefore, the report indicates that the standard-fit Smart Brake Support continued to perform well.
The NCAP report declared that the GLB’s lane assistance system helps to prevent inadvertent drifting out lane, by warning the driver and gently applying some corrective steering.
The system also intervenes more aggressively in some more critical situations, making driving at high speeds safer on motorways.
The report recognised the GLB’s camera that is used to determine the local speed limit - this information is presented to the driver who can choose to let the limiter adapt the speed accordingly.
The car has a seatbelt reminder system as standard for front and rear seats, ensuring the best safety is afforded to the GLB driver and their family.
Watch how the Mercedes-Benz GLB performed during the Euro NCAP tests:
You can see a range of the best Mercedes-Benz GLB deals here at Vertu Mercedes-Benz.
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For more detail on how the GLB performed, you can view the complete Euro NCAP report here.