12:27 pm, January 27, 2011
EURO NCAP has revealed the cars that performed the best and the worst in its crash tests in 2010.
The top performers range from Honda’s CR-Z to the BMW 5 Series.
Last year, Euro NCAP crash tested twenty nine vehicles, 65 per cent of which reached the five star rating, compared to 90 per cent in 2009 – this 25 per cent decrease shows that criteria to reach a five stars are now tougher than ever.
In the executive category the BMW 5 Series was the top performer, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta was the best performer in the small family category, the Honda CR-Z topped the supermini category, the Kia Sportage performed the best in the small off-road 4×4 category, while taking top honours in the small MPV category was the Toyota Verso.
The Suzuki Swift, Kia Venga, BMW’s X1, Citroen C4, and the VW Sharan and Seat Alhambra duo also performed well, all exceeding the 80 per cent mark meaning they join the list too.
Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP secretary general says: ‘Every year, car manufacturers constantly work to innovate and make their cars better and safer for the driver, whatever the size of the vehicle. The presence in these categories of high performing 5 star cars demonstrates car manufacturers’ commitment to safety for all sizes of vehicles.’
Meanwhile Euro NCAP’s poorest results of 2010 were achieved by the Citroen Nemo with three stars and by the Landwind CV9 which received only two stars.
