Hybrids: environmentally concerned and safe?

Neither the Honda Civic Hybrid nor the Skoda Fabia received the maximum five-star rating expected in adult occupant protection in the latest results on cars in the small family class launched by Euro NCAP last week.

The Civic Hybrid is the second environmentally concerned car that Euro NCAP has tested after the Toyota Prius in 2004, which received a five-star score in adult occupant protection. Last week's result was hotly anticipated throughout Europe, where fleet buyers and consumers are increasingly seeking cars with lower CO2 emissions and higher safety scores, to benefit from the growing use of tax incentives and to avoid road charging.

Euro NCAP's secretary-general Adrian Hobbs said: "Consumers may be asking themselves whether high safety scores and a hybrid powertrain can go hand in hand. Both Honda and Toyota have shown that they are rising to the challenge in their efforts to meet concerns about safety and global warming. It is now up to other manufacturers to follow in their footsteps."

For more detail on these results visit www.euroncap.com, where the complete test results are now available.