Five cars get five stars from Euro NCAP

• Small cars among the top performers
• Good pedestrian protection from Honda and Hyundai
• Suzuki Alto scores three stars

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Five out of six cars have achieved the maximum five-star award in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests.

The Audi Q5, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Kia Soul and Peugeot 3008 all earned the top mark. Only the Suzuki Alto missed out, scoring three stars.

The crash test organisation was especially pleased to see some smaller cars, like the Jazz, i20 and Soul, perform so well. Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, said: 'The smaller cars we tested whose results are released today show that size should not stand in the way of all-round safety.'

The Jazz and i20 were singled out for special praise because of their impressive levels of pedestrian protection. The Soul's seats performed particularly well in the whiplash test.

The Suzuki Alto's disappointing showing was blamed on its performance in adult occupant protection, child protection and safety assistance technologies. In response, Suzuki has pledged to make stability control at least optional on each Alto.