It’s not something most of us will ever think about, but God forbid you ever get hit by a car, you better pray that it’s one of these.
Independent crash safety testing organisation Euro NCAP has released a list of the five cars least likely to harm a pedestrian in the event that they get hit.
In Europe, it’s estimated that around 14 per cent of all road fatalities involve pedestrians, meaning that the Euro NCAP test and ratings is extremely important to a car’s overall safety rating.
MX-5 and Z4 top the list
Topping the list, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, is the Mazda MX-5 sports car, which scored a maximum of 93 per cent in the pedestrian protection tests.
Another roadster, the BMW Z4, came in second place with an overall score of 91 per cent, meaning that both it and the Mazda are by far less dangerous to get hit by than even your average hatchback.
In third place was the Infiniti Q30, which scored 91 per cent like the Z4, while the Volvo V40 came fourth on the list with a five-star rating and the best head impact protection of all the cars.
Volvo and Infiniti score highly
Finally, the Mazda CX-3 rounded off the top five safest cars for pedestrians, offering better protection than cars like the Audi TT and Vauxhall Astra despite the fact that it’s much larger.
The pedestrian protection rating is determined by testing the front-end structures of the vehicles, such as the bonnet, windscreen and front bumpers.
A team of experts then evaluates the potential risk of injury to the head, pelvis and legs of a pedestrian, with cars gaining extra points for features like autonomous emergency braking.
