Sudden Impact
Correction:
The print version of the spring/summer issue of Das Auto Magazine stated in the “Sudden Impact” article (page 54) that the Eos was named a 2010 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick. This is incorrect. The Eos was a 2009 Top Safety Pick. The Tiguan is a 2010 Top Safety Pick. The story below has been corrected.
Does not deter this award-winning duo from doing their jobs.
Eos and Tiguan are recent Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Picks.* The 2010 Tiguan also earned a five-star crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).**
Silent partners
Bi-XENON headlights with an Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS).
Xenon
lights simply emit a brighter light—to help you see better and be seen better. Even as you round a highway bend. AFS turns the headlights up to 15 degrees in the direction of the curve, lighting the way before the turn. Those split seconds can matter sometimes.
Light-Emitting Diode (LED) technology.
The LED taillights illuminate virtually instantly and at much higher intensity than conventional taillights. Those nanoseconds of additional notice could be the difference between a nasty
crash and a near miss. And we thought that the speed of light couldn’t increase.
Tire-Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
Next to the brakes, your tires are the most important safety features on your vehicle. TPMS checks tire pressure every 30 seconds. If you see a warning indicator on your instrument panel, determine which tire is low and inflate
to the appropriate pressure, shown on your Volkswagen model’s door jamb sticker, not what’s on the tire. Consider it your virtual tire gauge.
Should things get rough
Volkswagen models have predetermined crumple zones that fold like an
accordion to slow down the force of the crash, which is then channeled around the passenger compartment rather than through it.
Airbags*** all around
They deploy in eye-blink speed when crash sensors in the vehicle are triggered exactly right. Working in conjunction with the three-point safety belts, airbags help slow occupants down from vehicle speed to zero as quickly and safely as possible.
Lock and hold
Emergency locking retractors: Ever feel the safety belt catch you
in a hard-braking situation? That’s the emergency locking retractor
helping hold you in place.
Safety-belt load limiters: Well, hey, they do just the opposite. If too much force is exerted on the belt in an emergency situation, the safety-belt load limiters release
excess belt tension.
Pyrotechnic safety-belt pretensioners: If the vehicle is involved in an actual crash, these babies can fire instantaneously to take up some of the belt slack
to minimize forward movement of the occupant.
50 miles an hour: The speed at which unbelted occupants travel if a vehicle traveling 50 miles an hour hits a stationary barrier head-on.
1994: Percentage of occupants in U.S. who wore safety belts: 60.
60: Percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities during daytime.
2008: Percentage of occupants in U.S. who wore safety belts: 86.
45: Percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities during daytime.
Source: NHTSA.
In the extremely unlikely event of a rollover
Eos cleverly hides twin beams of steel underneath the rear headrests. In a rollover situation, they pneumatically fire instantaneously to maximize support and minimize injury.
The Tiguan roof can support four times its weight. Now that’s 13,732 pounds—or nearly seven tons. It’s no accident that the IIHS rated the Tiguan’s roof as the
strongest in its class.†
3 to 4 percent of all accidents in the U.S. involve the occurrence of a rollover.
Source: NHTSA
No more skid marks—anywhere
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) do what the driver cannot: pump the brakes rapidly enough to prevent wheel lock-up during rapid deceleration. ABS allows the driver
to fully apply the brakes and steer the vehicle at the same time.
1.5 seconds: The time it takes the average driver to decide to brake,
no matter the vehicle speed or time of day.
Source: NHTSA.
To prevent and preserve
Tiguan’s Prevent and Preserve System has more than 40 different safety features that help the driver avoid crashes and protect occupants in the unlikely
event one should occur. You’re reading about many of them now, and everything
here is also available on the Eos.
Brake force
Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) directs braking force to the wheel or wheels that need it most. That’s usually the front brakes during a hard stop, because the weight moves in the same direction the vehicle is moving.