Euro NCAP has released the last batch of test results for 2012 and in total nine cars - the Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Rio, Mercedes-Benz B-Class and C-Class Coupé, Range Rover Evoque, Subaru XV, VW Beetle and the VW Group's trio of city cars, the VW up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo - have been awarded the coveted five stars.
Rewards have also been given to manufacturers for new technologies that have been tested as part of Euro NCAP's mission to reward advanced systems. The Driver Alert and Forward Alert systems on the new Ford Focus were singled out for praise, as was the Mercedes-Benz Attention Assist and Collision Prevention Assist, Opel for Adaptive Forward Lighting and Volkswagen for City Emergency Break.
Both the Volkswagen Beetle and Subaru XV crossover impressed the judges by achieving the highest score yet for child occupant protection. The Subaru also earned the accolade of being the first car featuring a fully automatic passenger airbag activation system. This system is only activated when an occupant of a suitable size is detected in the seat, minimising the risk for younger children in the passenger seat.
Not such good news for Fiat, Jeep, Jaguar and Renault though with the Panda, Grand Cherokee, XF and Fluence Z.E. all falling short of the anticipated five stars and ending up with two Chinese newcomers, the Geely Emgrand EC7 and MG6, with four-star achievements. These shortfalls were for a variety of reasons including no standard fitting of ESC, underachievement in pedestrian, driver and passenger protection and in the case of the Jeep, a failure in the seat rail that saw the driver make contact with the steering wheel despite the airbag functioning correctly.