Euro NCAP has published its third round of safety results for 2022 which have seen the Kia EV6, Mercedes C-Class, Volvo’s C40 Recharge and new Multivan from Volkswagen awarded the maximum 5star rating. Stellantis models, Opel/Vauxhall Astra and Peugeot 308 received a 4 star rating. 

Euro NCAP said, all of the five-star cars in this test series demonstrated excellent crash protection, with scores of 90% or more, compared to 76% and 80% for the Stellantis’ cars. The cars showed consistently good results for child occupant protection as well. The largest differences between the EV6, C-Class, C40 Recharge and Multivan can be found in VRU protection they offer, in particular front-end performance, where the C-Class, fitted with an active bonnet, outperforms the KIA EV6 by a significant margin. On overall assistance technology, the Volvo C40 Recharge came out on top. Despite its somewhat different, boxy shape, the VW Multivan put in a solid all-round result that was on a par with the cars tested.

Mercedes-Benz’s Car-to-X Communication, part of the optional Mercedes-me service, is given a Euro NCAP Advanced reward. The system utilises data from other vehicles to provide an early warning, via a cloud-based service, of potential hazards in a car’s vicinity before they could otherwise be detected.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP commented, “On the whole, we see good scores for crash protection which is, of course, reassuring. But crash avoidance is as important as crash protection and the benefits of simply not being in a collision are, of course, immeasurably greater. So we will keep the emphasis on all areas of safety in the coming years and some manufacturers will have to continue to up their game in this area if they are not going to be left behind by the competition.”