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Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet completed the Euro NCAP crash tests with a score of 33.56 out of 37. The vehicle, tested in cabriolet configuration, achieved excellent performance notably under frontal impact, scoring even more than Scénic II which was until now the safest car on the market under this type of impact.

Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet is the sixth Renault car to achieve top five-star rating in the Euro NCAP test and will be on-sale in Australia in late 2004.

With five-star rating and a score of 33.56 points out of 37, Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet proved its very high safety performance under the crash configurations tested by Euro NCAP, which cover 70% to 80% of real-life accident situations. Euro NCAP inspectors noted in particular the excellent protection afforded by the vehicle under frontal impact conditions. Structural behaviour proved exemplary, with no intrusion into the passenger compartment. The injury report, based on analysis of the dummies, confirmed the effectiveness of the car’s restraint system. The antisubmarining airbag (fitted in the front seats on the Sport Hatch and Coupé-Cabriolet Mégane versions instead of the dual seatbelt pretensioner on other Méganes) admirably fulfilled its specified functions in preventing abdominal injuries and holding the front-seat occupants firmly against their seats to minimize the risk of lower-limb injury.

Reinforced body structure

Owing to its coupé-cabriolet bodywork, this member of the Mégane II family features a number of additional protection systems to provide top-class protection for vehicle occupants under frontal impact, lateral impact and rollover conditions. The body structure is specially reinforced at several locations. The body sides are linked by two partitions (lower and upper) behind the rear seats, with the lower partition structurally bonded to the floor. Unlike Mégane Hatch, Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet has its body sides in three distinct parts, with special reinforcement for the most vulnerable sections. The side sill plays an instrumental role in controlling longitudinal flexion and improving body stiffness.

The front pillar assembly is specially reinforced and stiffened to protect passengers under rollover conditions. Reinforcement takes the form of a 35mm diameter tube in 6mm thick VHEL steel, integrated in the front pillar, along with a special thick brace. These additional parts are assembled together with the front pillar and the lower front pillar reinforcer. This arrangement ensures unaltered performance as regards intrusion under frontal impact. Engine compartment layout is designed for safe stack-up under impact, to prevent intrusion of engine compartment parts into the passenger compartment. The steering wheel frame is collapsible and the steering column retractable. The brake pedal is also retractable, to minimize the risk of lower-limb injury, and special foot paddings for passenger and driver seats provide tibia and ankle protection. The dashboard is specially profiled to the shape of the tibia and designed to distribute load under impact. Side impact loads are absorbed by extensive padding, such as that in the door panels.

Restraint systems adapted to coupé-cabriolet format

Occupant restraint systems were designed for full consistency with the vehicle’s structural absorption capacity. Mégane II Coupé-Cabriolet features the third-generation Renault System for Restraint and Protection. Front seats have two adaptive airbags, seatbelts with pretensioner and load limiters (400 daN for thorax and 600 daN for pelvis), antisubmarining airbags (instead of the dual pretensioner system) in the seat bottom, and head-thorax side airbags.

At the rear there are two seatbelts with 600 daN load limiters and pretensioners. A reinforced under-floor plate and short belt loops minimize submarining risks under frontal impact.

Side rear seats have three-point Isofix fasteners for safe, convenient fitting of child seats. If a universal child seat is fitted on the front passenger seat, the antisubmarining airbag is disabled along with the passenger airbag. These systems enabled Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet to score three stars for child protection in the Euro NCAP tests.

In the event of rollover, vehicle occupants are protected by a protective cell formed by the upper windscreen crossmember at the front and the roll bars (fixed, or automatic on option) at the rear. The roll bars are covered in absorbent foam 35 mm thick.

Renault top for Euro NCAP stars

The Renault range is the safest in the European market, with six cars achieving five-star rating in the Euro NCAP tests.

Espace IV	Five stars	Safest car in class	(2003)
Vel Satis	Five stars	Safest car in class	(2002)
Laguna II	Five stars	Safest car in class	(2003)
Scénic II	Five stars		(2003)
Mégane II	Five stars	Safest car in class	(2002)
Mégane coupé-cabriolet	Five stars	Safest car in class	(2004)
Clio	Four stars		(2000)
Kangoo	Four stars		(2003)
Twingo	Three stars		(2003)