WRITTEN IN THE STARS
A ROUND yellow-and-black logo and a simple starratings system – and our cars were changed for ever. Euro NCAP, the crash-test organisation, is 25 years old this year. But with thousands of lives saved and our cars now more able than ever to survive a crash – and more importantly, avoid it in the first place – do we still need Euro NCAP?
That question is being answered this week via a big expansion of Euro NCAP’s work in the field of whole-life greenhouse-gas emissions for vehicles, reflecting the desire to offer consumers information in an area that’s becoming arguably even more pressing than safety. But that doesn’t mean Euro NCAP is stepping away from its primary safety role, in spite of the advance of electronic driver aids that are taking an ever-more important position.
“There will always be a need for an independent consumer rating to push the manufacturers,” says Matthew Avery who, as chief research strategy officer with Thatcham Research, is the driving force behind Euro NCAP testing in the UK.
“Cars are all much safer now, and that is absolutely because of Euro NCAP – but there are still improvements we can make,” he continues. “Every few years we raise the hurdle and make it harder and harder for new models to achieve a five-star rating. What it takes to gain those
