Autoexpress deputy editor John McIlroy applauds Euro NCAP for revising its testing but believes the results should be interpreted in context. The newest Euro NCAP safety test results are out, and they are quite intriguing. The unique seven-seater received only one star, with testers centering their conclusions on the similar Sandero Stepway. However, they also take note of the new model for its apparent lack of safety sensors.

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Euro NCAP is commemorating a quarter-century of advocating for safety improvements. Over that period, standards have greatly improved, and Euro NCAP – represented in the UK by Thatcham – deserves enormous credit for its work. 

The Jogger verdict, on the other hand, is noteworthy since it reveals one aspect where Euro NCAP may need to probe a little more. In reality, the Jogger really is a value-driven innovation that many of its purchasers will not compare it to a competing new car at all. The most evident substitute will be a used seven-seater for around the same price.

In a recent twin test of the Jogger by Autoexpress, they pitted it against a 2015 Kia Sorento – a vehicle that received five stars and slightly greater percentage scores for child and adult occupant protection when first tested by Euro NCAP eight years ago. These outcomes, however, have formally lapsed – and it is now absurd to compare them to a single-star grade based on the most recent 2022 requirements.

The quest for safety should not be abandoned; everyone would like to be as safe as possible. However, it would be really helpful if some form of equivalency rating were accessible, enabling anyone assessing a new automobile against an old one to get a sense of which is safer.

Euro NCAP has made the right decision by regularly updating its safety test – but it also needs to start putting all of its results into context in order to prevent misleading the millions of consumers who buy used cars.