2:26 pm, December 7, 2022
The Ford Puma and VW Touran have both lost their five star Euro NCAP ratings in the latest round of testing.
The organisation’s final safety results for the year revealed just three of the 14 cars tested did not receive the full five star rating.
Alongside the Puma and Touran, the Peugeot 408, based on the 308 released earlier this year, also only achieved four stars.
The Ford and Volkswagen were reassessments of ageing, but updated cars and missed out on five stars due to ‘challenges in adult occupant protection’.
The crash and safety organisation assessed a wide variety of models including those from upcoming Chinese brands in the latest round.
The new MG4 – one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars – was awarded five stars.
The Chery Omada 5 crossover and Maxus MIFA 9 MPV – both currently not on sale in the UK, but may be in the future – were also handed the top rating.
The Lucid Air – an American luxury saloon that rivals the Tesla Model S – was awarded top marks, as were the new Lexus RX, Mercedes GLC and Land Rover Discovery Sport.
Volkswagen’s new ID.Buzz was given a five-star rating too, as were VW’s new Amarok pick-up and the Ford Ranger.
Euro NCAP has recently updated its testing to be more stringent which led to a number of popular new cars being retested.
The Skoda Octavia retained its five-star rating as part of the retests.
Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, said: ‘2022 has been one of Euro NCAP’s busiest-ever years and we have seen a lot of new car makers and new technologies.
‘It’s clear that European consumers still demand the highest levels of safety and that a good Euro NCAP rating is seen by car manufacturers as critical to success here.
‘Twenty-five years since it first started, Euro NCAP is still driving ever-higher levels of safety, and our protocols for 2023 will bring exciting, tough new challenges to the car industry.’
