Electric Ford Mustang Mach-E and Hyundai Ioniq 5 receive full marks for safety

Two electric vehicles have scored the full five stars in Euro NCAP’s latest round of safety testing.

Both the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 scored top marks, along with the Hyundai Tucson and Toyota Yaris Cross.

Ford’s electric SUV might share a name with the iconic Mustang sports car, but while that car is available with a high-performance petrol V8 engine, and only scored three stars in safety tests in 2017, the Mach-E is an electric-only vehicle with top marks for safety.

It was praised for having a centre airbag, a deployable bonnet to protect vulnerable road users, and extensive driver assistance technology.

It has also been given five stars by Green NCAP, which measures a vehicle’s eco-friendliness.

Hyundai scored two more five-star ratings for the Tucson SUV and Ioniq 5 EV. Euro NCAP says the Tucson only just managed its five stars, but both models have good all-round safety.

As well as this, the Hyundai Bayon was also tested. The small crossover scored four stars, doing well in the crash protection segments but lacking a centre airbag.

Finally, the Toyota Yaris Cross also scored five out of five. Another crossover, this one is available with a petrol-electric hybrid engine.

As well as the passenger vehicles, Euro NCAP has also retested the Ford Transit and Transit Custom, as they now come with seat belt reminders as standard for all occupants, bumping them up to a Gold Winner in the commercial vehicle rankings.

​​Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general at Euro NCAP, said: “Vehicle use in road traffic is the most significant contributor to work-related traumatic injury, so small improvements, especially those that promote seatbelt wearing, can go a long way. Congratulations to Ford for updating their two commercial vans and making the effort of putting seat belt reminders as standard for drivers and co-drivers.”