The Mercedes‑Benz E‑Class is the safest car tested in 2024 by Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme).
Best in Class winners included the Škoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat (winning jointly), the Mazda CX-80, and the Zeekr X.
The E-Class 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.
The E-Class was launched in SA last year in two rear-wheel drive derivatives with nine-speed automatic transmissions: the E200 petrol and E220d diesel. They are both mild-hybrid four-cylinder variants featuring intelligent support from an integrated starter-generator.
“The automotive industry had a challenging year in 2024 marked by weak consumer confidence and difficult economic conditions,” said Michiel van Ratingen, secretary-general of Euro NCAP.
“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.”
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 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.
The large SUV category was won by the Mazda CX-80, achieving a close victory over the Audi Q6 e-tron.
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 bakkie, scored highly across all four safety categories.
In 2024, there were no contenders 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 is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme based in Leuven, Belgium, backed by motoring and consumer organisations in several EU countries. It awards star ratings based on the performance of the vehicles in a variety of crash tests.
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