Euro NCAP reveals Best in Class cars tested in 2024
LEUVEN, BELGIUM – Euro NCAP has revealed its Best in Class cars – the safest models it tested in 2024.
Founded in 1996 with the purpose of improving vehicle safety, the top-scoring cars tested by Euro NCAP each year are crowned Best in Class, helping consumers choose the safest car for their needs.
In 2024, five cars from China, Germany, and Japan set the standard for vehicle safety. Best in Class winners included the Škoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat (winning jointly), the MAZDA CX-80, and the ZEEKR X. The most outstanding performance was set by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which topped the overall safety score of cars tested last year1.
“The automotive industry had a challenging year in 2024 marked by weak consumer confidence and difficult economic conditions. Given these difficulties, Euro NCAP finds it especially encouraging that car makers continue to place significant emphasis on safety innovation and equipping cars with the newest safety systems. This firmly places consumer safety at the forefront of automobile design, as it ought to be.”
Dr. Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General Euro NCAP
The winner of Euro NCAP’s overall best performance in safety in 2024 was the Mercedes- Benz E-Class. The E-Class, an Executive car, achieved the best overall score, a weighted average of the four safety categories that Euro NCAP’s experts assess: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist Technologies.
Small SUVs dominated the year with 20 out of the total 44 cars tested by Euro NCAP coming from this class, highlighting continued consumer demand for the SUV design. Leading the Small SUV class was the Chinese ZEEKR X, which outperformed competitor vehicles from European manufacturers. Hot on its heels, however, were new market entrant Deepal’s S07, the Porsche Macan, the Cupra Tavascan, the MG HS, the Toyota C-HR, the Volvo EX30, and the XPENG G6. The ZEEKR X also won the Best in Class award for the safest Pure Electric car of 2024.
Another important class of 2024 was the Large SUV and Euro NCAP tested six seven- seater vehicles in this category. The Mazda CX-80 was named Best in Class for 2024, achieving a close victory over the Audi Q6 e-tron.
In the Large Family Car class, the Best in Class was achieved by the Volkswagen Passat and its partner the Škoda Superb. The two vehicles, built on the same platform and part of the Volkswagen Group, delivered the same class-leading safety performance.
Chinese car makers saw another impressive performance with the very first electric pick-up tested in Europe by Euro NCAP. The Maxus eTERRON 9, a five-seat, four-door pick-up truck, scored highly across all four safety categories.
In 2024, there were no contenders for the Best in Class award in the Small Family Car class as the top-scoring vehicles had achieved a red-body part score in their safety testing, making them ineligible.
Euro NCAP Best in Class cars 2024
| Adult Occupant | Child Occupant | Vulnerable Road User | Safety Assist | |
| Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 5 starsBest Performer | 92% | 90% | 84% | 87% |
| ZEEKR X – 5 starsBest in Class Small SUV Best in Class Pure Electric | 91% | 90% | 84% | 83% |
| Škoda Superb – 5 stars VW Passat – 5 starsBest in Class Large Family Car | 93% | 87% | 82% | 80% |
| MAZDA CX-80 – 5 starsBest in Class Large SUV | 92% | 88% | 84% | 79% |
To define the ‘Best in Class,’ a calculation is made of the weighted sum of the scores in the four areas of active and passive safety assessment: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian, and Safety Assist. This sum is used as the basis for comparison of the vehicles. Cars qualify for ‘Best in Class’ based on their rating with safety equipment that is fitted as standard.
Please note that from 2026 Euro NCAP will be changing the way we make our safety assessment. The five-star rating however will continue to remain a valid and trusted indicator of a new car’s safety performance.
1 Some categories may not be represented as Euro NCAP has tested too few cars of that class in 2024.
Editor’s Note
Find our rules for Best in Class here.
Star ratings should not be compared directly between different sizes of vehicles, so a ‘Best in Class’ reveals which vehicles have performed better than their competitors in the category. As requirements for each star rating evolve and become tougher each year, the ‘Best in Class’ comparison is made within a calendar year so that vehicles can be assessed against the same standards.
Since 2021, Euro NCAP gives an award for the best safety performance of pure electric cars.
