Vauxhall Mokka and Renault Kangoo earn four-star NCAP ratings

The new Vauxhall Mokka SUV and Renault Kangoo MPV have gained a four-star safety verdict in Euro NCAP’s latest round of testing, while the Cupra Leon earned the same five-star rating as its Seat sibling. 

The tests focused on side impact protection for both adults and children and analysed safety features on each model with standard equipment.

 The Mokka, which is now based on Stellantis’ Common Modular Platform, scored a 75% child occupant protection score, with a slightly lower 72% adult occupant protection score. It was also awarded 64% for its safety assistance systems and 58% for protecting vulnerable road users. 

Overall, the Mokka scored four stars out of five, losing marks for its lack of automatic emergency braking and central airbag. 

“The new Mokka lacks some critical safety systems that have become increasingly commonplace by now. The latest edition clearly lacks the ambition of the previous Mokka that was a runner-up of 2012 Best in Class in the Small Family category,” said Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP’s secretary general. 

The Kangoo also secured a four-star rating, with an 87% adult occupant protection score and a 87% child occupant protection score, along with a 67% vulnerable road user protection score and 72% for its safety assistance systems.

The Kangoo was praised for its safety systems offered as standard but lacked in other areas. “Renault has launched a respectable successor that performs well in general and lacks only a centre airbag as far as state-of-the-art protection is concerned,” said van Ratingen.

Elsewhere, the Cupra Leon gained the same five-star rating as its Seat Leon counterpart, while the Mercedes-Benz GLA and EQA crossover siblings were awarded ratings based on the 2019 five-star score of the closesly related B-Class and some additional tests. 

The new plug-in hybrid variant of the Volkswagen Tiguan has also been listed as a five-star car, following the earlier testing success of the ICE-only model.