2020 Toyota Yaris a ‘safety benchmark’ says Euro NCAP

The first Euro NCAP crash safety tests of 2020 have seen the new Toyota Yaris score five stars – despite the introduction of tough new protocols

2020 Toyota Yaris Euro NCAP safety crash test

The new Toyota Yarissets the benchmark for small family car safety” says Euro NCAP as the safety organisation belatedly reveals its first test results of 2020.

The Yaris gains a full five-star rating.

Delayed due to the COVID pandemic, the latest results are also the first to use an entirely new frontal offset crash test.

It replaces the one Euro NCAP has used since its inception in 1997.

Far-side impacts are also newly being assessed in 2020, so Euro NCAP can assess the protection cars offer their occupants, as well as the risks posed by the car they crash into.

“This has been a tough year for all concerned,” acknowledged Euro NCAP secretary general Michiel van Ratingen.

“We have had to adapt quickly to new working practices, and it is pleasing that the first car rated this year should have gone so far to address the safety issues that are emerging as top priorities.”

2020 Toyota Yaris Euro NCAP safety crash test

What is the new far-side impact test?

The Euro NCAP far-side impact test is designed to measure an occupant’s sideways movement towards the opposite side of the vehicle.

The Toyota Yaris helps mitigate this with the introduction of centre airbags, that reduce contact between occupants and “offer compartmentalised protection”.

Safety organisation Thatcham Research’s Mathew Avery called the centre airbags “a genuinely encouraging development for crash safety”.

Meanwhile, the new mobile progressive deformable barrier (MPDB) helps the organisation assess the danger that occupants can present to one another during a collision, by colliding into each other.

“The Yaris, in general, does well, its small size and benign front end making it one of the less aggressive crash partners on the road.”

2020 Toyota Yaris Euro NCAP safety crash test

Thatcham’s Mr Avery added: “With the Yaris, Toyota has shown that cars of any size or category can meet the new benchmark set by the world’s most exacting safety testing programme.”

The new frontal offset test is expected to be less easy for larger, heavier SUVs to pass…

Thatcham Research also praised Toyota’s comprehensive standard-fit Safety Sense, which can now stop the vehicle during turning to avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic.

Also tested in the latest round of results were the Audi e-tron Sportback and Renault Clio E-Tech Hybrid, both of which carried over the five-star ratings of their core models.

ALSO READ

MOT enforcement officers to wear bodycams

What coronavirus precuations mean for your practical driving test

DAB mandatory for all new cars from December 2020

Related Articles

Richard Aucock
Richard Aucockhttps://www.richardaucock.co.uk/
Richard is director at Motoring Research. He has been with us since 2001, and has been a motoring journalist even longer. He won the IMCO Motoring Writer of the Future Award in 1996 and the acclaimed Sir William Lyons Award in 1998. Both awards are run by the Guild of Motoring Writers and Richard is currently vice chair of the world's largest organisation for automotive media professionals. Richard is also a juror and Steering Committee director for World Car Awards and the UK juror for the AUTOBEST awards.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Find a Car Review

Latest

How to protect your car with an OBD port locking device

We explain how to prevent your car being stolen by criminals targeting its On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port.

Kia EV9 is World Car of the Year 2024

The Kia EV9 is the latest pure electric car to be named World Car of the Year – and it also scooped the World Electric Vehicle 2024 prize

New Volkswagen ID.Buzz GTX gets 340hp and all-wheel drive

The retro-styled ID. Buzz people carrier is now offered with 340hp, making for an unlikely addition to Volkswagen’s sporty GTX range.

Salon Privé London to host three days of champagne and supercars

Salon Privé London returns to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea next month, with special celebrations of McLaren and the Porsche 911 Turbo.