Euro NCAP latest results sees nine cars achieve five-star rating

The nine cars to garner the top five-star awards, in alphabetically order, are the Audi A6, the BMW X3, the Chevrolet Aveo, the Chevrolet Orlando, the Citroen DS5, the Hyundai i40, the Opel Ampera, the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet and the Volkswagen Jetta. The sole entry that received four stars was the Kia Picanto, which lost a star due to the lack of Electronic Stability Program, or ESP as standard. However, EU regulations mandate that all cars must have ESP as standard starting from next year.

Euro NCAP points out that while current cars provide strong protection for child and adult occupants, they still do not offer enough pedestrian protection, with the Audi A6, Chevrolet Ampera and Citroen DS5 barely making the five-star grade due to their pedestrian protection ability.

New regulations will kick in starting from 2012 however, which says that cars must meet stricter pedestrian protection standards. Euro NCAP points to the all-new Ford Focus, which achieved a score of 72% for pedestrian protection, and says that the Focus shows the way for others to follow.

Source: Euro NCAP