Volkswagen up has been awarded an NCAP rating of Five Stars

The new Volkswagen up has received five stars in the Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme). In addition, the up! received Euro NCAP’s Advanced Award for the car’s innovative City Emergency Braking function.  Notably no other car in its class has earned five stars and the Advanced Award before.

The optional ( we wish it was standard on all cars) City Emergency Braking is automatically active at speeds between 3 mph and 18.5 mph, and it utilises a laser sensor (integrated in the upper part of the windscreen) to scan an area of up to 10 metres in front of the up! and detect the risk of an impending collision.

If a collision is about to occur with a vehicle moving in the driving direction or with a stationary object without the driver reacting, first the braking system is preconditioned, and in a second stage the hydraulic brake assistant is switched to a more sensitive level.  Depending on the situation, City Emergency Braking might then initiate hard braking to a stop as a third stage or support the driver with full braking power if brake pedal pressure is insufficient.  Depending on the vehicle’s speed and the particular situation, the emergency braking function with its automatic brake intervention can reduce the severity of accidents and in some cases avoid a collision altogether.