Eight new cars have been crash tested by independent safety testers Euro NCAP, with all eight vehicles scoring a maximum five-star rating.
The Citroën C3 Aircross, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Vauxhall Crossland X, Volvo XC60, Volkswagen T-Roc and Polo, Škoda Karoq and SEAT Arona all achieved a five-star result in an excellent round of tests.
The Volvo XC60 mid-size SUV achieved the highest score of any car tested in 2017, equalling the best-ever results of its bigger sibling, the XC90. Matthew Avery, director of research at the UK’s own Thatcham Research, praised the Swedish company for its safety efforts.
“It’s exceedingly rare for a vehicle to score so favourably across the board,” said Avery. “The adult occupant protection result for the Volvo XC60 is one of the best on record. But it’s in active safety that Volvo is really maintaining its lead. The XC60’s standard-fit safety technologies are excellent – or rather those that we were able to test, as its Turn Across Path and Run off Road systems are not yet a feature of the Euro NCAP programme. That’s how high the Volvo XC60 is above the bar set by Euro NCAP.”
Of the eight cars tested in this latest round, six are equipped as standard with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which leading safety experts consider the most important new safety technology in decades. The Vauxhall Crossland X and Citroën C3 Aircross do not have AEB as standard but offer it as an option, and still achieved a five-star score even without AEB as standard.
