7:51 am, January 5, 2022
Euro NCAP has brought in the new year by naming its safest cars of 2021 with the Mercedes-EQ EQS among the top scorers.
Of the 33 cars reviewed by the body last year, 22 received five star scores after being launched into walls and put through rigorous tests.
Cars are given a five-star rating based on their crash test performance as well as ratings for various different areas such as their safety assistance technology and how collisions affect vulnerable road users.
One of the top scorers was the Mercedes-EQ EQS, which won in both the electric vehicle and executive vehicle segments.
The German firm’s flagship EV got excellent scores of 96 per cent and 91 per cent in adult occupants and child occupant segments, as well as 80 per cent for safety assist.
An honourable mention also went to the Polestar 2, which achieved the runner-up position in both these segments.
Two more electric vehicles topped the large off-road vehicle group, with the Skoda Enyaq iV beating the BMW iX.
The feat was made all the more impressive by the fact the Skoda costs considerably less than iX, which starts at just under £70,000.
The award in the “Large-Off Road” category goes to Škoda’s first allelectric SUV, the #enyaqiv. The TOYOTA Yaris Cross took the top spot in the “Small MPV” category and the ŠKODA Fabia was the best “Small Family Car” @SKODAUK @SKODAUK_Media @skodaweb @ToyotaUK @toyota_europe pic.twitter.com/R60wpRjlkD
— Euro NCAP (@EuroNCAP) January 4, 2022
The Toyota Yaris Cross beat the Volkswagen Caddy to the small MPV title, while the Nissan Qashqai beat the Volkswagen ID.4 to the small off-road vehicle win.
Finally, the Skoda Fabia won small family car, with no runner-up announced.
Dr. Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General, said: ‘2021 was a tough year for the car industry: a shortage of parts, semiconductors in particular, was the sting in the tail of the Covid crisis, affecting development timelines, production and sales.
‘Still, we saw quite a number of new car models coming to the market, many of them electric or hybrid, and many of them achieving five-star ratings despite the demanding requirements.
‘Well done to the winners as well as to the runners-up, some of which were very close contenders for the top slot in their respective categories.’
