Meanwhile, the all-new Toyota C-HR sailed through NCAP's tests, achieving a full five stars, as did the upcoming Chinese large SUV: the Nio EL6.
Honda CR-V (large SUV, from £44,219*)
Euro NCAP score with safety pack: 5/5Euro NCAP score without safety pack: 4/5
The Honda CR-V hybrid is a familiar sight on UK roads, with the latest-generation launching in 2023.
At launch, Honda considered selling an entry-level model without the brand's latest safety technology, called 'Honda Sensing 360'. This is shown in early promotional materials and some Honda dealer websites still state that this tech applies only to 'certain grades' of the car.
However, Honda told us that before the car became available to buy in the UK it decided all UK models would come with the Honda Sensing 360 safety pack as standard.
This means that no matter which UK trim of the latest-generation Honda CR-V you buy (be it new or used), it gets five stars out of five in Euro NCAP's safety tests.
The Sensing 360 safety pack adds corner radars to the car to remove blind spots for the system round the vehicle. It also improves the car’s ability to reduce the risk of harm in collisions. Without the safety pack, the car has just a camera and single radar to detect imminent collisions, meaning it drops to 4 stars in Euro NCAP's tests.
Euro NCAP’s tests show that Sensing 360 safety pack leads to a wholesale improvement in the car’s ability to avoid or reduce the impact of accidents, including collisions with vehicles and pedestrians.
For all models with the safety pack, the CR-V gets strong results in all areas: 85% for protecting adults in the car, 86% for children, 80% for protecting vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists, and 79% for its safety assistance systems.
Euro NCAP periodically improves the standards it expects the latest cars to get to achieve its top ratings. The latest Euro NCAP test programme requires high standards of active safety tech, including autonomous emergency braking to reduce the impact when the car detects a collision is imminent, to get its top grade. This technology can substantially reduce the severity of a collision or avoid it entirely.
Looking for an affordable EV? See our guide to theToyota C-HR (small SUV, from £31,300**)
Euro NCAP score: 5/5
The Toyota C-HR gets very similar Euro NCAP scores to the versions of the Honda CR-V with safety pack fitted, doing even better for protecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
The C-HR scores 85% and 86% for protecting adults and children in the car respectively, 79% for its safety assistance systems, and a particularly high 86% for protecting vulnerable road users.
The only significant criticism Euro NCAP had was with the car’s driver status monitoring system, which is able to detect driver fatigue only, not distractions. This was true of all three cars in Euro NCAP’s latest tests, including the Nio EL6 and Honda CR-V even with the safety pack included.
: discover the models that aced our lab testsNio EL6 (large SUV, from around £67,000***)
Euro NCAP score: 5/5
The Nio EL6 (known as the ES6 outside Europe) isn’t due to launch in the UK until around 2025, although it’s currently available in Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordics so it’s gone through Euro NCAP’s assessments.
It could be worth waiting for if protecting adults in the car is your top priority, with it scoring a stellar 93% in protecting adults in collisions – no matter if the car impacted from the front, side or rear, Euro NCAP rated all parts of the body as having ‘good’ or ‘adequate’ protection.
The EL6 scored 85% for protecting children in the car, 78% for vulnerable road users and 76% for its safety assistance systems – with Euro NCAP praising its autonomous emergency braking system (which automatically applies the brakes when it detects an imminent collision to reduce the force of impact) saying it performed ‘extremely well’ at responding to other vehicles to help protect those in the case.
Drive smarter and cut costs using our expert advice. *New price based on what people pay (including discounts), sourced from 500 franchised dealers across the UK each month.**For a car we haven’t reviewed yet, this is the On-The-Road prices from the manufacturer’s website, correct at time of publishing.***Estimated price based on the price of rival car models currently on the UK market. UK prices for the Nio EL6 haven’t yet been announced.source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/revealed-what-honda-cr-vs-latest-euro-ncaps-crash-tests-mean-for-uk-buyers-aaUbX1J62CIv