A new Euro NCAP report shows Tesla’s Autopilot receiving mixed reviews. Although it is marked highly in regards to its performance, its driver engagement score fell to the bottom.
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment program. In a new report regarding automated driving systems, the Euro NCAP in partnership with Thatcham Research, judged several different systems vehicle assistance, driver engagement, and safety backup.
Tesla Autopilot was rated top performance throughout the categories excluding driver engagement. Out of the 10 systems tested Tesla Autopilot received the lowest performance for driver engagement.
When judging systems driver engagement, it was said “The level of driver engagement they offer is the carmaker’s portrayal of assistance appropriate in their marketing material? How effectively does the car monitor the driver to ensure they are engaged with the driving process? How easy is it for the driver to interact with the assisted system? How clearly does the car communicate its assistance status?
Euro NCAP wrote about Teslas Autopilot driver engagement “Tesla’s system name Autopilot is inappropriate as it suggests full automation. The promotional material suggests automation where the handbook correctly indicates the limitations of the system capabilities, which could lead to confusion. Status information is clear, but the Model 3 does not offer a head-up display showing the system status in the driver’s direct line of sight. While the Tesla is equipped with an internal camera, it is not used for Driver Monitoring relying only on steering wheel input for driver engagement. The system resists driver steering input and then disengages, limiting co-operative driving.”
As mentioned above, although Tesla fell to the bottom for driver engagement, its Autopilot almost had a clean sweep compared to the other systems for its actual performance. Check out the results in the table below:
If you’re interested in learning more about the new grading standard developed by Thatcham Research alongside Euro NCAP, check out the brief video below:
