What's the news?
You kind of have to feel for car safety engineers these days - we've become so blasè about vehicle safety that it's only news now when a new car doesn't score maximum points on the EuroNCAP crash test.
Happily, that's not the case here and both the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Peugeot 3008 have both taken home a maximum five stars. The E-Class scored 95 per cent adult occupant protection and 90 per cent for child occupant, with 77 per cent for pedestrian protection and 67 per cent for safety assist. As with the 3008, the E-Class was tested only with standard safety equipment, not any optional features, so you could theoretically improve those scores.
The EuroNCAP testers were especially impressed with the E-Class' autonomous emergency braking system, saying that "impact against a stationary car was avoided at all test speeds and the E-Class scored maximum points for this part of its assessment."
The Peugeot 3008's emergency braking system was tested, and NCAP says that it works well, but as it's not a standard fit on all models, its results were not included in the test. Nevertheless, the 3008 still got the maximum five stars, with scores of 86 per cent for adult occupant, 85 per cent for child occupant, 67 per cent for pedestrian protection and 58 per cent for safety assist.