Euro NCAP has uncovered its Best-in-Class cars of 2025, revealing the five safest models tested by its experts over the past 12 months.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA topped the Small Family Car category and earned the title of Best Performer of 2025
Announced ahead of a major overhaul of Euro NCAP’s testing and scoring procedures for 2026, the results reveal that the highest-scoring car was the Mercedes-Benz CLA, which topped the Small Family Car category and earned the title of Best Performer of 2025.
The other top performers of 2025 are the Mini Cooper E, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Smart #5 and Polestar 3.
To define the ‘Best in Class,’ a calculation is made of the weighted sum of the scores in the four areas of assessment: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User and Safety Assist. Only vehicles with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award, and they must have achieved a five-star Euro NCAP rating.
The CLA – Mercedes’ first model in a completely new family of vehicles spanning electric and hybrid drives – scored strongly across all four assessment areas and set a benchmark for safety in the compact premium segment last year. This builds on a trend started in 2019, when the previous-generation CLA was awarded Best in Class for the Small Family Car category.
Euro NCAP 2025 Best-in-Class cars
- Best Performer & Best Small Family Car: Mercedes-Benz CLA
The latest CLA impressed judges with a near-perfect performance in Adult Occupant protection and a class-leading score for Vulnerable Road User safety, thanks to its advanced active bonnet and refined AEB systems. It previously topped the Small Family Car class in 2019.
- Best City & Supermini: Mini Cooper E
The all-electric Mini Cooper E “proves that small cars can deliver big safety”. Despite its compact dimensions, it achieved high scores in structural crash testing, making it the safest choice in the supermini class of the models assessed by Euro NCAP in 2025.
- Best Large Family Car: Tesla Model 3
The updated Tesla Model 3 remains a leader in safety. The electric family car achieved high scores across the board and particularly impressed in Child Occupant protection. Its Safety Assist score shows Tesla’s continued improvement of driver assistance safety features.
- Best Small SUV: Tesla Model Y
Reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category victory this year, the company’s best-selling Model Y proved “the gold standard” for small SUVs, specifically excelling in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist tests.
A newcomer to the SUV segment, the Smart brand began making small cars without any compromise toward safety. The new, large Smart #5 impressed Euro NCAP’s experts with a robust five-star performance, “proving that the brand’s evolution into larger segments has not come at the cost of occupant protection”.
- Best Executive Car: Polestar 3
Continuing Polestar’s reputation for safety innovation, the Polestar 3 outperformed rivals in the executive car class. Its structural integrity, impressive Child Occupant protection rating and suite of next-generation driver assistance technologies secured its place as the safest executive vehicle of 2025.
Euro NCAP said the results for 2025 – which was the organisation’s busiest year to date, with more new cars tested than at any other time – show that carmakers are successfully navigating a changing automotive landscape while meeting challenges from its testing protocols.
The Best-in-Class awards also help drivers and fleets choose the safest car for their needs.
Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general, said: “Euro NCAP names its Best-in-Class cars to help consumers easily identify the highest-performing cars that the organisation has evaluated over the past year. 2025 has had its challenges, but despite this, it has been pleasing to observe that the car industry has remained committed to improving vehicle safety.
“Mercedes has a long-standing belief in investing in vehicle safety, so it feels appropriate for the CLA to earn the title of 2025’s Best Performer, as well as Best Small Family Car.
“It was a close-run competition, however. Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants such as Firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance and running costs from their next car.”
For 2026, Euro NCAP is changing the way it makes safety assessments in the largest revamp since the introduction of the overall rating system in 2009.
The new rating methodology will centre around four key stages of safety and is intended to improve protection for vehicle occupants and all road users.
