Euro NCAP has today published the Assisted Driving gradings of seven cars equipped with Highway Assist. Three got good or better ratings, with the overall best performer in this batch is the BMW iX3, graded as ‘Very Good’. Two others – the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Cupra Formentor – achieved ‘Good’ gradings. Two others, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Cupra Formentor, achieved ‘Good’ gradings.
The assist systems of the Polestar 2 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 were graded as ‘Moderate’, while the Toyota Yaris and Opel Mokka-e offer ‘Entry’ level systems, according to the tester. Highway Assist systems help the driver to maintain a steady speed, to keep a safe distance from the car in front and to keep the vehicle in the centre of the lane by combining (intelligent ) Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC ) with Lane Centering (LC ).
Highway Assist systems are designed to assist the driver, not to take control, and the driver is expected to keep his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road at all times. For this reason, Euro NCAP states that it tests not only the car’s ability to assist and promote safer driving, but also evaluates how the system engages the driver and, if the unexpected happens, what safety backup is offered by the vehicle.
The technology, first offered on premium vehicles, has gone mainstream in recent years and is now available on cars in all categories, albeit with varying degrees of sophistication and at different price points. In its previous rounds of Assisted Driving tests in 2018 and 2020, Euro NCAP said it found some vehicles promised “more than they could deliver”, implying, through their naming and interaction with the driver that they provide more automation than they were capable of doing.
All the cars tested in today’s round, however, offer a balance between Assistance Competence – the degree to which the system can help the driver – and Driver Engagement – the extent to which the driver feels they must remain in control and not disengage from the driving task.
The BMW iX3, although a variant of the X3 range, has a new sensor-set, not yet available on its combustion-engined stablemates and the grading of its automated driving system applies only to the all-electric version. The range of cars tested demonstrated the growing prevalence of Assisted Driving across the spectrum of vehicle categories. Entry level systems, while offering less functionality than more sophisticated ones, nevertheless provide the driver with a useful level of support, and that fact that they are offered on volume-selling cars shows the direction of travel for automated driving.
