Renault ZOE crashes out with zero stars in Euro NCAP tests

The Renault ZOE has suffered the ignominy of receiving a zero-star rating in the latest round of Euro NCAP crash tests.

Marking the Renault ZOE as only the third car in Euro NCAP's 25-year history to score no stars, the shocking result also comes 20 years since the Renault Laguna became the first car ever to receive the full five-star rating.

Surprisingly, when the Renault ZOE was introduced back in 2013 the battery-electric hatchback scored full marks from the European safety body, with Euro NCAP awarding it the full five stars.

The latest iteration's downfall is attributed to more stringent safety tests implemented by Euro NCAP and the ZOE lacking some of its rivals' latest safety kit.

The ZOE also failed to impress in frontal offset crashes, with Euro NCAP slating the small Renault for not providing enough protection for a driver's chest.

The Renault also performed badly in the side pole impact, which replicates a car sliding into a lamp post or tree – an incident in the real world the safety body says accounts for a third of all fatal accidents.

In the impact test with the ZOE, the crash test dummy's head was struck by the pole.

The ZOE's 43 per cent adult occupant safety score is the lowest in the past 11 years of testing.

Subtracting more points for the ZOE was Renault's decision to delete head-protecting curtain airbags, which, ironically, Renault helped pioneer back in 2001 with the five-star Laguna 2.

The final nail in the coffin was the ZOE's complete lack of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane departure warning, something commonplace in cars at the same price point.

The Renault ZOE's embarrassing result was released on the same day BMW was awarded a mighty 91 per cent five-star rating. The Genesis G70 and GV70 also took home top marks, while the advanced Mercedes-Benz EQS was awarded a 96 per cent adult occupancy rating – the highest score of 2021.

Last year, Renault pulled the zero-emissions ZOE from the Australian market, not because of its safety record but over disappointing sales linked, the car-maker claimed, to government policy failures.