EuroNCAP has created the five-star safety rating system to help consumers, their families and businesses compare vehicles more easily and to help them identify the safest choice for their needs.
The safety rating is determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by EuroNCAP. These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real-life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.
While a safety rating can never fully capture the complexity of the real world, the vehicle improvements and the technology brought the past years about by the application of high safety standards have been shown to deliver a true benefit to consumers in Europe and to society as a whole.
The More Stars, The Better
The number of stars reflects how well the car performs in EuroNCAP tests, but it is also influenced by what safety equipment the vehicle manufacturer is offering in each market. So a high number of stars shows not only that the test result was good, but also that safety equipment on the tested model is readily available to all consumers in Europe. The star rating goes beyond the legal requirements and not all new vehicles need to undergo EuroNCAP tests. A car that just meets the minimum legal demands would not be eligible for any stars. This also means that a car which is rated poorly is not necessarily unsafe, but it is not as safe as its competitors that were rated better.
Look Out For The Latest Results
The five-star safety rating system continuously evolves as older technology matures and new innovations become available. This means that tests are updated regularly, new tests are added to the system and star levels adjusted. For this reason the year of test is vital for a correct interpretation of the car result.
THE LATEST STAR RATING IS ALWAYS THE MOST RELEVANT
The latest star rating is always the most relevant and comparing results over different years is only valid if the updates to the rating scheme were small. Recently, the inclusion of emerging crash avoidance and driver assist technology has significantly altered the meaning of the stars.
Because of this evolution of the rating scheme, cars’ ratings expire when their date stamp (i.e. the year the car was rated, indicated on the rating) is more than six years old. An expired rating does not necessarily mean that the car has changed in any way; simply that the rating scheme has moved on so much since the car was rated that its assessment is largely irrelevant in comparison with cars tested more recently.
During the six years or so until the rating expires, EuroNCAP performs reviews to ensure that it remains valid for cars currently on sale. Manufacturers are asked each year to confirm that the car has the same safety equipment it had when it was assessed, and that no other changes have been made which might affect the validity of the rating. Additionally, when a car is updated (‘facelifted’), which typically happens about mid-way through its life cycle, manufacturers must submit details of the changes made and the influence these might have on safety performance. In-house data is often provided to demonstrate that the changes have only a minor influence on the relevant aspect of safety performance. The ‘Annual Reviews & Facelifts’ table indicates whether or not the original star rating remains valid, although performance in one of the areas of assessment may have changed slightly.
Cars with Dual Ratings?
From 2016, some cars have two star ratings. One rating is based on a car fitted only with safety equipment which is standard on every variant in the model range throughout EU28. This rating reflects the minimum level of safety you can normally expect from any car sold anywhere in the European Union. All cars assessed by EuroNCAP have this basic safety rating.
The second rating is based on a car with an additional ‘safety pack’, that may be offered as an add-on option to consumers. The additional safety equipment included in a safety pack will boost the car’s safety rating and, therefore, the second star rating demonstrates the safety level that the car can achieve if this additional equipment is included. Not every car has this second star rating, but when available, it helps consumers to easily understand the benefit of additional equipment expressed in extra stars. The additional safety equipment that is allowed as an option in the pack changes over time. When a technology is well-established, it can no longer be an option and must be standard equipment if it is to be included in the rating. New technologies are added to the list that can form part of the option pack. Finally, Euro NCAP only gives an optional rating if the pack is offered on all variants and in all European markets.
The following provides some general guidance as to what safety performance the stars refer to in today's system:
5 star safety: Overall excellent performance in crash protection and well equipped with comprehensive and robust crash avoidance technology
4 star safety: Overall good performance in crash protection and all round; additional crash avoidance technology may be present
3 star safety: At least average occupant protection but not always equipped with the latest crash avoidance features
2 star safety: Nominal crash protection but lacking crash avoidance technology
1 star safety: Marginal crash protection and little in the way of crash avoidance technology
0 star safety: Meeting type-approval standards so can legally be sold but lacking critical modern safety technology
