European car-makers improving crash protection

European car manufacturers have seen the Volkswagen Touran and the Renault Scenic achieve the coveted five stars for occupant protection according to EuroNCAP, the independent car crash testing consortium.

The results for the first eight cars tested to the new child protection rating saw the Ford C-MAX become the first car to be awarded four stars for protecting child passengers.

Responding to the results Pat Kiely, Managing Director of AA Ireland, said: "The latest cars tested by Euro NCAP demonstrate very high levels of occupant safety, giving Europe's car buyers a wider range of safer models than ever before."

However, he cautioned that the number of manufacturers scoring only one or two stars for pedestrian protection is still very disappointing.