What is an NCAP rating?
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a five-star safety rating system for comparing cars, and helps consumers judge the crash-safety of different makes and models. It is an independent organisation that will generally buy cars anonymously from dealerships, and then test them in a laboratory.
The rating of the car is decided from tests that recreate real life accidents, which have caused serious injury or death. Cars which meet the minimum legal standard receive 0 stars. Cars with good test results and good safety equipment receive more stars (with the maximum being five). Overall, a car with a low rating is not unsafe, however its competitors offer a better level of protection.
