Το Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ανακοίνωσε πως η 2014 Mercedes-Benz M-Class έγινε ο τελευταίος παραλήπτης της IIHS Top Safety Pick + διάκρισης. Η διάκριση αυτή δείχνει πως οι επιδόσεις του οχήματος στα crash tests μικρής και μέτριας επικάλυψης, στο πλάι, την αντοχή της οροφής και τις αξιολογήσεις για τα καθίσματα και τις ζώνες ασφαλείας αξιολογήθηκαν ως «καλές» τουλάχιστον.
Όπως έχουμε δει και σε άλλες περιπτώσεις, η μεγαλύτερη προσαρμογή που χρειάστηκε να κάνουν οι κατασκευαστές ήταν για το crash test μικρής επικάλυψης που προσομοιώνει περιστατικό όμοιο με τη μετωπική σύγκρουση με έναν στύλο ή ένα δέντρο. Για να αντεπεξέλθει σε αυτό το crash test, η Mercedes ενίσχυσε τη δομή των εμπρός θυρών.
Για την ιστορία, να αναφέρω πως η M-Class έγινε η πρώτη Mercedes που κέρδισε την Top Safety Pick + διάκριση αλλά πολύ αμφιβάλλω πως θα είναι η τελευταία.
[Πηγή: IIHS]
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Mercedes-Benz M-Class earns IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award
ARLINGTON, Va. – The 2014 Mercedes-Benz M-Class, a midsize luxury SUV, earns the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award for good performance in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and seat/head restraint evaluations.
Mercedes reinforced the SUV’s door sills to improve occupant protection in small overlap front crashes for models built after August 2013.
In the small overlap front test, the driver’s space was maintained reasonably well. Injury measures recorded on the dummy indicated that injuries to the left lower leg would be possible in a crash of this severity, but the risk of significant injuries to other body regions would be low. The dummy’s head made good contact with the front airbag, which stayed in position during the crash. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structures and outside objects.
The Institute added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations last year. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle’s front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. A 50th percentile male Hybrid III dummy is belted in the driver seat.
The M-Class is the first Mercedes to earn the TOP SAFETY PICK+ award since the Institute began testing for small overlap protection in 2012. Winners must earn good ratings for occupant protection in 4 of 5 evaluations and no less than acceptable in the fifth test.
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