The aim of this work is to study the effect of a localized impact on a wall made of soil reinforced with geocells. First, two structures were tested with an impacting remote-controlled car. Such experiments, carried out on 1/10th-scale model structures for practical reasons, are designed to mimic the mechanical response of an alveolar geocell reinforcement system. Two types of constitutive materials were considered for the geocells with very different mechanical properties. The test structures were dismantled after the tests to analyse the influence of the impact on the cell layers, especially within their bulk. Examining the video of the tests captured with two high-speed cameras also helped understanding the phenomena that occurred during impact. These experiments were completed by numerical simulations whose objective was to understand more clearly the causes of the phenomena observed either within the dismantled structures or in the videos. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.