Safety body Euro NCAP has released its latest round of crash-test results, with four of the five cars tested securing top-class scores.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tucson, and the Toyota Yaris Cross were all given five-star ratings following the challenging series of tests – these included front and side impacts and collisions with barriers and poles as well as an analysis of each car’s active safety technology. The fifth car tested, the Hyundai Bayon SUV, secured a four-star rating.
Euro NCAP testers highlighted the difference in safety performance between the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV and its muscle-car namesake, which was tested in 2017 and only just managed three stars (and then only after receiving a specification upgrade following its initial two-star result).
The Mustang Mach-E includes as standard a centre airbag, a deployable bonnet to protect vulnerable road users and a host of driver assistance technology.
The Ford also earned a top five-star rating from Euro NCAP’s sister environmental test programme Green NCAP. With no tailpipe emissions the car scored top marks in the Clean Air Index and Greenhouse Gas Index tests, and a 9.4 out of 10 score for energy efficiency.
Both the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric family car and Tucson SUV were described by Euro NCAP safety testers as having good all-round safety features, though the Tucson’s safety assist technology was only just effective enough to achieve the five-star rating.
The new Hyundai Bayon small SUV was marked down as it lacks the centre airbag that is standard on both the Ioniq 5 and the Tucson. However, testers added that the Bayon has robust crash protection and crash-avoidance features, which enabled it to secure a “creditable” four-star rating.
The Toyota Yaris Cross SUV, which in the UK is supplied as a petrol hybrid, became the third consecutive Toyota model to achieve the five-star rating, following the Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car and Yaris supermini.
