Currently reading: Renault and Suzuki score high in latest Euro NCAP tests

The Renault Espace and Suzuki Vitara score top marks in highly regarded safety tests

Renault's new Espace and the Suzuki Vitara have been awarded the maximum five stars in the latest round of the Euro NCAP safety tests.

The French car firm's new Espace large MPV gained its highest marks in child occupant protection, with an 89% score.

It was also awarded 82% for adult occupant protection and 80% in the safety assist category. Its lowest mark of 70% for pedestrian protection was still described by NCAP as a "good overall performance, with only poor results on the stiff windscreen area".

Suzuki's Vitara crossover scored marginally higher in those areas, with 89% and 85% for adult and child occupant protection respectively, its lowest score being 75% for safety assist.

The report noted that "dummy readings showed good protection of the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger", while the car's autonomous emergency braking system was praised for its inter-urban performance.

Meanwhile, the Fiat 500X small MPV and Mazda 2 supermini scored highly, with each being awarded four out of five stars overall.

Both models earned high marks for adult protection, with the Mazda and Fiat getting identical scores of 64% for the safety assist category, with both models being marked down slightly for not offering an autonomous emergency braking system as standard.

 

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