Crash Test Results - Vehicles from Europe and United Kingdom

Please note: the geeks at Euroncap are incapable of simply listing cars from A–Z. Instead they list them by weight. To find the vehicle you're looking for, you may have to scroll down the page a long way. Sorry.

The European New Car Assessment Programme is one of the most modern crashtesting regimes on the planet. It shares the same crashtesting standards as the Australian crashtesting programme. The two organisations often share data, so a VW Golf crashtest listed in the Australian results was probably tested in Europe.

However, we have a slight problem with the EuroNCAP testing methods: EuroNCAP allows carmakers to trade off less desirable frontal crashtest results against good side crashtest results (it's a way of encouraging manufacturers to build cars for good all-round protection rather than just good frontal protection). Thus, cars that might kill you in a head-on collision may end up with a deceptively good rating. Take the example of the previous model of the Hyundai Sante Fe, which got a four out of a possible five stars in its EuroNCAP crashtest. When looking at the frontal test data closely, however, we note a warning that the Sante Fe got a mere 56 out of a possible 100, and testers noted that: "the integrity of the passenger compartment was questionable and results from the frontal test were disappointing, showing problems for the driver's chest and upper legs. In contrast, the 4x4's performance in the side impact was very good despite its lack of side airbags." Thus the Sante Fe got a better rating than it would have for a frontal test alone (the new model Sante Fe did much better in both its front and side crashtests and is a quite safe car).

As with any crashtest, you should also be aware that any test result means only that a vehicle gives good or bad front and side crash protection in a collision with a solid object such as a lamppost, or a vehicle of similar weight. In actual road smashes the driver of a smaller (lighter) car is far more likely to die than the driver of the larger (heavier) vehicle it collides with.

Sweden's Folksam Insurance Co publishes extensive lists of vehicles that do and don't protect their occupants in real-life European road accidents.