Euro NCAP tested 33 new cars in 2021, of which 22 achieved the top 5-star rating. Among the successes, the Mercedes-EQ EQS emerged as best in the “Executive Car” and “Pure Electric” categories, narrowly beating runner-up the Polestar 2. In the “Small Off-Road” category, the winner is the Nissan Qashqai with an outstanding performance in active safety. The award in the “Large-Off Road” category goes to Škoda’s first all- electric SUV, the Enyaq iV. The Toyota Yaris Cross took the top spot in the “Small MPV” category and the Škoda Fabia was the best “Small Family Car”.

The Euro NCAP Best-in-Class award is given to those cars which perform best overall in categories with at least three entrants that year. Winners must have achieved a five-star rating and must have no critical body region coloured red in the full-scale tests. Click here to learn more about the rules.

Michiel van Ratingen says: “2021 was a tough year for the car industry: a shortage of parts, semiconductors in particular, was the sting in the tail of the Covid crisis, affecting development timelines, production and sales. Still, we saw quite a number of new car models coming to the market, many of them electric or hybrid, and many of them achieving five-star ratings despite the demanding requirements. Well done to the winners as well as to the runners-up, some of which were very close contenders for the top slot in their respective categories.”

Editor’s note

A video of the Best in Class cars of 2021 is available on our YouTube channel.

For full results, visit www.euroncap.com or Euro NCAP's newsroom for journalists. For media information, please contact us at media@euroncap.com.

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About Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP organizes crash & safety tests on new vehicles and provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe. Established in 1997 and backed by several European Governments, motoring, consumer and insurance organizations, Euro NCAP has rapidly become a catalyst for encouraging significant safety improvements to new car design. Visit our website: www.euroncap.com.

Euro NCAP ratings strictly apply to vehicles of the specifications offered in Europe. The ratings do not necessarily apply to models offered in other regions, even when sold under an identical name, as production specification and equipment may vary.