6 June 2001: The Honda Civic has achieved a new pedestrian protection benchmark in Europe's leading independent crash tests confirmed Euro NCAP last night.

The Honda Civic is the first car tested which is designed to balance the safety of both occupant and pedestrian. With a 72% score the Civic almost achieved a four-star Euro NCAP pedestrian rating (75% threshold for four stars) and offers double the level of pedestrian protection offered by many of the cars tested by Euro NCAP to date.

New crash test results are also published for large family cars, including the Mercedes C Class, Rover 75, Volkswagen Passat and the Mitsubishi Carisma (same class as Renault Laguna II and Audi A4 results published in March 2001). New results for two small MPVs are also published - the Fiat Multipla and the Opel Zafira.

Max Mosley, Euro NCAP Chairman and FIA President said the Honda Civic has achieved ‘a unique breakthrough’ in levels of pedestrian protection. For the first time in the history of Euro NCAP it's clear that a manufacturer has designed a car which genuinely balances the safety needs of both occupants and pedestrians.

"The Civic's pedestrian protection performance is the best recorded by Euro NCAP so far,” he said. “Just falling short of our four star threshold, it achieved a 72% pedestrian score. This clearly demonstrates what car designers can do to improve the safety of vulnerable road users."

Summary of latest results: (Occupant protection, Pedestrian protection)

Small Family Cars:
Honda Civic 4 stars (79%), 3 stars (72%)

Large Family Cars:
Mercedes C-Class 4 stars (91%), 2 stars (33%)
Rover 75 4 stars (88%), 2 stars (36%)
Volkswagen Passat 4 stars (82%), 2 stars (36%)
Mitsubishi Carisma 3 stars (71%), 2 stars (44%)
Renault Laguna II(*) 5 stars (97%), 2 stars (33%)
Audi A4(*) 4 stars (88%), 1 star (19%)

Small MPVs:
Fiat Multipla 3 stars (56%), 2 stars (36%)
Vauxhall/Opel Zafira 3 stars (65%), 2 stars (36%)

(*) Results released in March 2001. TW