Euro NCAP: how to read the stars and compare the safety of used family cars

• The star rating (0–5) sums up four areas: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection and safety assist systems. The percentage for each area shows the share of points scored. For families, adults and children matter most.
• Only compare star ratings for cars tested in the same or a similar year. The rules keep getting stricter, and from 2026 the rating is also structured differently.
• A rating is valid for a maximum of six years. The Škoda Octavia Combi IV tested in 2019 no longer has a valid result. The Hyundai Tucson NX4 tested in 2021 keeps it until 2027.
• On a used car, the result must match the generation, version and safety equipment of the specific car. A result achieved with an optional safety pack doesn't apply to a car without it.
• Stars say nothing about the technical condition of a specific car. On cars offered by Carvago, a technician checks it before sale as part of CarAudit™.

Euro NCAP is an independent European programme that rates the safety of new cars using crash tests and assessments of safety systems. For parents choosing a used family car, it is the best safety comparison available. It tells you more than the number of airbags in a listing. But results age as the rules get tougher. That is why you need to know which year a test comes from and which version of the car it applies to.

The stars sum up the result on a scale of 0–5. The rating covers both occupant protection in a crash and the systems designed to prevent one. A car therefore can't earn five stars on a strong body and airbags alone.

The overall rating is not an average of the percentages. For each star level, the car must reach a minimum score in every area. Excellent adult protection therefore can't make up for a weak result for pedestrians or safety assist.

For the used cars commonly on offer, you will find the results split into four areas:

The percentage expresses the share of points scored in that area. A child protection score of 88% doesn't mean an 88% chance that the child won't be injured in a crash. It sums up several tests and assessed features.

From 2026, the structure has changed

From 2026, Euro NCAP structures its rating around the phases of a dangerous situation:

• Safe Driving: supporting the driver in normal traffic.
• Crash Avoidance: the ability to prevent a collision.
• Crash Protection: protecting people when a collision does happen.
• Post-Crash Safety: help and limiting further risks after a collision.

With used cars, you will mostly be reading results in the old structure for a long time to come. Percentages from new and older tests can't be put side by side, because the points are distributed differently and the requirements are different.

The requirements are gradually getting stricter. New test scenarios are added, demands on occupant protection rise, and systems that prevent accidents carry ever more weight. A car always earns its stars under the rules of the year in which it was tested.

A five-star used car from an older test may have very good cabin protection. Even so, it may lack systems that newer ratings already require. The stars therefore don't tell you whether the same car would get the same result today.

For a practical comparison, cars of similar size tested in the same year work best. For adjacent years, the detailed percentages are also meaningful. Treat results several years apart as separate information about each car, not as a single league table.

What an expired rating means

A Euro NCAP rating is valid for a maximum of six years from when it was awarded. An expired rating means the result no longer serves as a benchmark against new cars. The car itself hasn't got any worse.

For a used-car buyer, an older test still has value. It shows the strengths and weaknesses of the design under the rules of the time. With cars whose rating has expired, though, bear in mind that newer rivals in the same class usually offer more driver assistance systems.

The results are available free of charge at euroncap.com, where you can search by make, model and test year. But the same model name can cover several structurally different cars. The year of first registration also won't reliably tell generations apart, because sales of the old and new generations often overlap.

On the results page, check four things:

1. Generation and body style. They must match the car in the listing. The test details state which versions the result applies to.
2. Rating year. It determines the rules under which the car was tested. It has nothing to do with the used car's year of manufacture.
3. Tested variant. The engine and trim level identify the car that was tested.
4. Standard equipment or safety pack. Some cars have two results: one with standard equipment and another with optional safety systems.

The last point is the most misleading in listings. Sellers often quote the better of the two results even though their car doesn't have the relevant pack. In that case, the lower rating applies.

Check the safety equipment of the car you have chosen using its VIN. "Brake assist" often just means extra brake force when the pedal is pressed hard. Autonomous emergency braking, which intervenes on its own, is a different system. A camera behind the windscreen or a radar in the grille won't tell you which functions the car has.

In crash tests, child dummies measure the loads acting on a child's body. But the child occupant score also takes into account how well the car accommodates child seats. That includes the number and marking of ISOFIX anchors, whether common child seats can be fitted correctly and whether the passenger airbag can be deactivated.

It is therefore worth reading the commentary and the child seat installation overview too. Two cars with a similar percentage may lose points for different reasons: one in the crash test, the other because of installation restrictions.

The tested Škoda Octavia Combi IV (from 2019) in 1.5 TSI Ambition form, for example, allows the passenger airbag to be deactivated for a rear-facing child seat. This is information about the equipment and usability of that seating position. It is not a recommendation to carry a child in the front.

The child protection percentage doesn't confirm that any child seat will fit the car. That is determined by the manuals for the car and the child seat, or by the seat manufacturer's list of compatible cars. The article on ISOFIX covers this in detail.

Anyone looking for "the safest family car" shouldn't chase the highest number in a single column. A simple rule is a better guide: five stars from the most recent possible test and balanced results for both adults and children. On top of that, a result that applies to the version and equipment of the car for sale.

The two models below show how to read a results page. They are examples of a family estate and a family SUV, not a safety ranking. An overview of typical used family cars can be found in the article on the best family car.

Both cars have five stars, but each under the rules of a different year. The Octavia's higher percentages therefore don't mean it is safer than the Tucson. The Tucson met the stricter requirements of 2021. It is also a different type of car.

Above all, the table shows that the same five stars can hide areas of differing strength. For both cars, pedestrian and cyclist protection is the weakest area and occupant protection the strongest. Only the detailed rating explains where a car lost points.

Euro NCAP rates a new car. With a used car, repair history, maintenance and wear are added to the design.

• Repairs after a serious accident: badly repaired structural parts or incorrectly replaced airbags and belt pretensioners can seriously reduce occupant protection.
• Faulty driver assistance systems: warning messages, damaged sensors or a camera not recalibrated after a windscreen replacement disable a system the car's rating relied on.
• Standard equipment mistaken for a safety pack: parking sensors or cruise control don't mean the car has the systems of the better-rated version.
• Tyres, brakes and suspension: if they are neglected, the car's ability to avoid an accident suffers regardless of its crash test result.

When buying on your own, you have to track down the right test and also check the equipment via the VIN, the car's history and its technical condition. Only an inspection with diagnostics will reveal the latter; you can't tell from a listing. For cars offered by Carvago, the CarAudit™ inspection does this work.

A Euro NCAP rating helps you choose a safe model. You then still need to find a specific car in the right generation, with the right safety equipment and in good technical condition.

• Choosing a specific version: Carvago has the widest selection of used cars, roughly a million cars from dealers in several European countries. That makes it easier to find the model in the generation and specification to which the better rating applies.
• The CarAudit™ inspection: a technician checks every car at up to 270 checkpoints before sale. CarAudit™ covers a check of the available information on the car's history and legal status, an inspection of the exterior, interior and technical components, diagnostics and a test drive. You know the result before you decide to buy.
• Guaranteed condition: Carvago guarantees the condition of the car stated in the CarAudit™ certificate. Before sale, Carvago also buys the car from the original seller, becomes its owner and takes on its risks. You buy directly from Carvago.

Is Euro NCAP the same as type approval?

No. Type approval is a requirement for a car to be allowed on the road. Euro NCAP is a voluntary consumer programme that compares safety in more detail and with higher demands. Even a car with a low star rating meets the type-approval requirements.

What if a car has no Euro NCAP rating?

Then you have no comparison from this programme for it. A missing rating neither proves nor disproves safety. But you know less about occupant protection and the performance of safety systems than with a tested model from the same class.

Do crash test results apply to any accident?

No. The tests are carried out under precisely defined conditions. A different speed, impact angle or type of obstacle gives a different result. Stars are for comparing cars; they don't predict the outcome of an individual accident.

• https://www.euroncap.com/how-to-read-the-stars/
• https://www.euroncap.com/assessments/0785/
• https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/models/octavia/first-sketches-of-the-innovated-octavia-take-a-look/
• https://www.euroncap.com/assessments/hyundai/tucson/0895/
• https://euroncaprescuesheets.blob.core.windows.net/rescuesheets/Hyundai/Hyundai_TUCSON__SUV_2020_5d_GD_EN.pdf
• https://carvago.com/caraudit
• https://carvago.com/how-carvago-works
• https://carvago.com/car-delivery