Euro NCAP releases the safety rating of seven new cars today. The passenger compartment of the ES remained stable in the frontal offset test. Dummy readings showed good protection of all critical body areas for the passenger and good protection for the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger. Lexus showed that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions. In the full-width rigid barrier test, protection of the driver dummy was good for all critical body areas. Protection of the rear passenger was good or adequate but the pelvis slipped beneath the lap section of the seatbelt, behaviour that was penalised, and the rating for this body area was rated as poor. Also, the side curtain airbag did not deploy properly, and a penalty was applied to the scores in the side barrier and pole impacts. In these side impact tests, dummy readings showed that protection of all critical body areas was good. However, with the penalty applied for incorrect airbag deployment (seen in the full-width frontal test), protection of the head was down-graded to adequate. Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injury in the event of a rear end collision. A geometric assessment of the rear seats also indicated good whiplash protection. The standard-fit autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system scored near-maximum points in tests of its functionality at the low speeds, typical of city driving, at which many whiplash injuries are caused.