LR Disco Sport gets 5 stars from Euro NCAP, Corsa misses out
Land Rover's Discovery Sport and the VW Passat achieve five stars, while the new Corsa and MINI hatch only get four and Dacia Logan three
Manufacturers including Land Rover, Volkswagen, Ford and Porsche have achieved top ratings in the latest round of Euro NCAP tests, while the Vauxhall Corsa, Smart Forfour and MINIhave missed out on the top safety rating. The Dacia Logan MCV has been condemned by the crash test safety body.
In a shock for Renault-owned Dacia, the budget firm's Logan MCV estate only managed a three-star safety rating, and came under scrutiny for the passenger compartment's "excessive deformation" that could "clearly not withstand any further loading".
Euro NCAP also criticised Dacia as a whole, saying the result "reflects the brand’s aspirations when it comes to safety and driver assistance systems".
Vauxhall's new Corsa only achieved four stars, despite praise for the new Side Blind Spot alert system. Rivals such as the Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio and Volkswagen Polo all achieved five stars when they were tested, with the Polo managing it five years ago, so this will come as a disappointment to Vauxhall.
The MINI also only managed four stars, a shock for the firm, with the lower bonnet and windscreen sections marked as "poor" in the frontal collision. Smart's new ForTwo and ForFour city cars also just missed out on the top rating because of a lack of standard safety equipment.
Both the new Ford Mondeo and rival Volkswagen Passat achieved a five-star crash test rating, putting them amongst the safest cars on UK roads. Ford's family saloon was praised for active safety features such as inflatable rear seatbelts and the Passat performed extremely well overall.
Land Rover's new Freelander replacement, the Discovery Sport, also got the highest rating, thanks in part to its standard autonomous emergency braking. The Porsche Macan achieved five stars, despite being criticised for not offering that feature as standard.
Other new cars such as the Lexus NX, Kia Sorento and the Subaru Outback were also awarded five stars. Yet the way all these cars are ranked could change in January 2016, as Euro NCAP introduce a two-tier safety rating system.
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