Honda

Honda Announces New Passenger Front Airbag

Honda has announced the development of a new passenger front airbag designed to better protect occupants in several frontal collision scenarios. Honda plans to begin applying the airbag design to new products in the United States in 2020.

Honda and Autoliv, one of the company’s safety systems suppliers, partnered to develop and test the new airbag. The USA’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that in 2017, upwards of 37,000 people lost their lives on US roads as a result of motor vehicle crashes.

Honda’s next-generation airbag is designed to reduce potential injuries that can occur in a wider variety of frontal impacts. Honda believes that it’s particularly beneficial in angled frontal impacts, where lateral collision forces can cause an occupant’s head to rotate severely or slide off the airbag, increasing the chance of serious injury.

The new system utilises four major components – three inflated compartments, a centre chamber, and two outward-projecting side chambers that create a wide base across the dash. The fourth component is a sail panel, which stretches between the two side chambers at the outer edge, catching and slowing the occupant’s head while also engaging the side chambers. This pulls the head inward to cradle and protect it, mitigating the potential for injury.

Honda, Mercedes-Benz And SEAT Off-Roaders Get Top Marks For Safety

The first three cars tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 have all achieved the maximum five-star rating for safety.

The new SEAT Tarraco shares Volkswagen’s MQB platform with the Škoda Kodiaq, rated as five-stars by Euro NCAP in 2017. Against the more stringent protocols of 2019, the Tarraco’s five-star rating is notable, and its score of 97 per cent in adult occupant protection is amongst the best achieved by a car in this category.

The previous-generation Honda CR-V was tested as a diesel in 2013. In a sign of the times, this latest version is tested in petrol-hybrid form, anticipated to be the biggest-selling variant. The car performs well in all areas of safety and secures a top safety rating.

Mercedes-Benz’s rugged G-Class also comes in with a five-star rating, with Euro NCAP noting an “impressive performance” in each of the four areas of assessment.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, said: “Here we have three new vehicles, competing in the same segment and getting top safety ratings. That’s impressive enough but the fact that all three off-roaders are equipped with pedestrian and cyclist AEB systems really demonstrates the power of consumer testing, not only to encourage better performance but also to promote new technologies as standard-fit across Europe.”