(Wed 03 Mar 10)

When Euro NCAP introduced new and more stringent requirements to its crash test programme just over a year ago, the suspicion was that it would become extremely difficult for any car to achieve a five-star rating. In fact, most cars tested since then have done just that, but Euro NCAP's latest results show that some manufacturers still have some work to do.

Of the five cars whose results have just been announced, only the Toyota Verso (pictured) was awarded the full five stars, scoring 89% for adult occupant protection, 75% for child occupant protection, 69% for pedestrian protection and 86% for Safety Assist.

Less happily, the Nissan Cube achieved four stars, though it might have been given five if the head of a dummy representing a three year-old child had not moved excessively during a frontal impact. The SEAT Exeo also lost a star because of a risk of injury to the knees and femurs of adult passengers against hard structures in the dashboard, despite the deployment of a knee airbag. Euro NCAP was, however, impressed by the Exeo's performance in the child occupant and pedestrian protection tests.

During the frontal impact test, the driver's seatbelt in the Kia Venga was partially cut by the lower seat rail in the frontal impact test. Kia has responded immediately, suspending delivery of the 450 vehicles due for UK customers so that protective polypropelene sleeves could be fitted to the belts. The same modification has also been made to the four Vengas which have so far left the showrooms.

Other, less serious issues restricted the Venga to a four-star rating, and Euro NCAP has pointed out that even this applies only to models which have had the protective sleeves fitted.

The poorest performance in this round of tests was achieved by the van-based Citroen Nemo, which was marked down because of poor whiplash performance, the lack of a curtain airbag as standard equipment on all models, and the fact that neither Electronic Stability Control nor speed limit assistance is available even as an option.

For more details visit www.euroncap.com.

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