Euro NCAP Best 5 Cars of 2010

Having performed in 2010 quite an extensive series of crash tests, the leading European safety organization, Euro NCAP, has had a difficult time in selecting the best of the best models tested last year. This, however, hasn't stopped the organization to add all the numbers and announced today the safest cars of their categories.

In 2010, the stricter Euro NCAP criteria have led to a decrease of 25 percent when it comes to the number of cars to achieve a five star rating. Out of the twenty nine cars tested, only 65 percent managed to impress the engineers of the organization, a number which represents a decrease of 25 percent compared to 2009.

“Every year, car manufacturers constantly work to innovate and make their cars better and safer for the driver, whatever the size of the vehicle. The presence in these categories of high performing 5 star cars demonstrates car manufacturers’ commitment to safety for all sizes of vehicles,” said Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP secretary general, when announcing the winners.

Before we tell you what the safest cars of 2010 were, we'll remind you that only two cars of the batch tested last year proved to be horrible when it comes to safety. They are the Citroen Nemo, which recorded a three star rating, and the Chinese SUV Landwind CV9, which snatched the poorest result possible, two stars.

Below is the list of vehicles selected by Euro NCAP as being the safest in their class.

• executive category: BMW 5 Series
• small family category: Alfa Romeo Giulietta
• supermini category: Honda CR-Z
• small off-road 4×4 category: Kia Sportage
• small MPV category: Toyota Verso