Earlier this month, Suzuki showed the world a cheap car doesn’t necessarily have to skimp on safety. Its $8,000 sedan grabbed all five stars in the Global NCAP crash test, proving an econobox is not always a death trap. In a separate crash test organized by Latin NCAP, things didn’t go well for this Citroën C3 Aircross. The small SUV priced at the equivalent of $20,000 received a disappointing zero-star rating.
What went wrong? For starters, it only has two standard airbags in Brazil. That honestly seems unacceptable for a brand-new vehicle sold in 2024. I understand that automakers are forced to build cars to a cost to keep the asking price low to sell more vehicles, but the C3 Aircross in India comes with six standard airbags. The worrying outcome isn’t that much of a surprise considering the regular C3 also got zero stars when it was tested by Latin NCAP last year.
The lack of more standard airbags isn’t the only issue signaled by the New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean. The front impact test showed weak chest protection while the whiplash test revealed “poor protection” for an adult’s neck. Moreover, the side impact exhibited a “relevant intrusion” in the cabin. Even with side airbags onboard, the C3 Aircross would still receive zero stars because of its poor protection for adult occupants and the absence of curtain airbags. The situation would be just as bad for kids in a side impact test.
Latin NCAP rated the Citroën C3 Aircross at 33% for Adult Occupant, 11% for Child Occupant, 50% for Pedestrian and Vulnerable Road Users, and 35% for Safety Assist Systems. The side pole impact test was skipped since the car didn’t offer side head protection. When the results were published, Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Latin NCAP, said:
“Stellantis disappoints once again with a zero-star model. Citroën’s and Stellantis’ engineers know well how to offer cars with better safety performances, but unfortunately the corporate decision goes in a different direction. While other competitors are offering more safety and better performances, Citroën remains offering low safety as standard in their cars. Latin NCAP urges Stellantis, PSA and Citroën to change its approach, to improve basic safety equipment in cars, and to volunteer the cars in Latin NCAP to show consumers their performances.”
Stephan Brodziak, Latin NCAP Chairman added:
“It is very worrying that the Stellantis Group continues to offer Latin American and Caribbean consumers popular vehicle models with such low safety levels. In the current Latin NCAP protocols, its tested models have only obtained zero, one and two star results. Once again, we call on the Group to reconsider its safety policy and follow the example of several of its competitors that offer popular models with good safety levels.”
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Latin NCAP
Contacted by our colleagues at Motor1 Brazil, Citroën issued a statement:
“Stellantis reinforces its commitment to vehicle safety and that its models comply with all current regulations. The safety of a car is a whole that is thought out from the start of development and goes far beyond the individual offer of active and passive safety items. The CMP platform variant allows the Aircross to have a robust body with ample protection for the passenger compartment.”