EuroNCAP releases latest crash test scores
21.12.2010 - Richard Dredge
(22)
EuroNCAP has announced crash test scores for some of the cars about to reach showrooms, as well as some of those already available.
Unsurprisingly, most cars have achieved the maximum five-star rating, but even so, some have proved to be safer than others.
Those that have come out best are all seven-seater people-carriers, with the Ford Grand C-Max, Seat Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan all notching up 96 per cent for adult protection.
The five-seat Ford C-Max also achieved a maximum score, but didn't prove quite as accomplished with its adult protection - although a 92 per cent figure still puts it towards the top of the table.
Other five-star cars include the Audi A1, Mini Countryman and Volkswagen Passat, along with the Sportage and Venga, both from Kia. The new Nissan Micra however, managed just a four-star score, which won't have pleased its maker very much.
More of a surprise though was the four-star rating for the Jaguar XF, which first went on sale in 2008. It was marked down for a less-than-perfect preformance in the side impact tests and because structures in the dashboard could cause injury in a frontal crash.
The XF's 78 per cent adult protection score was still rather better than the worst performer of the lot - the Chinese-built Landwind CV9. This managed just 34 per cent in adult protection tests and achieved a two-star score overall. Don't expect to see it on sale in the UK any time soon.
