Euro NCAP starts testing electric vehicles

Euro NCAP has published the results of tests on seven new vehicles, including its first test of a fully electric car- the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The car received a credible four star rating.



The cars were tested in the same test conditions as the other cars in the programme. They paid special attention to post-crash battery integrity and the proper functioning of the battery cut-off switch that isolates the high-voltage battery in the event of a crash. The news release mentioned that no electrical or fire hazards were detected during the testing of the i-MiEV.







Regarding the test results of the other cars, the small off-road 4x4 Dacia Duster didn't do well with an overall rating of only 3 stars. In contrast, the Mitsubishi ASX and the Nissan Juke achieved the coveted 5 star overall rating. Furthermore, the small MPV Hyundai ix20, also received a 5 stars Euro NCAP rating.

Euro NCAP's best performing cars of 2010

Euro NCAP recently announced the five best performing cars of 2010. These vehicles achieved a high overall score and attained the coveted five star rating.



The top achievers by category are:

• Executive category: BMW 5 Series


• Small Family category: Alfa Romeo Giulietta


• Supermini category: Honda CR-Z


• Small off-road 4×4 category: Kia Sportage


• Small MPV category: Toyota Verso

Last year, Euro NCAP crash tested twenty nine vehicles, 65% of which reached the five star rating, compared to 90% in 2009. This decrease is attributed to the fact that the Euro NCAP’s criteria to reach a five stars are now tougher. 

The  poorest results of 2010 were the Citroen Nemo with three stars and by the Landwind CV9 which received only two stars.

Check out the full list of cars tested in 2010 on the Euro NCAP website.