The Toyota Aygo, along with its sister cars the Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1, has fared badly in the latest round of Euro NCAP crash tests, earning just three stars.
Although all three cars have already been tested by Euro NCAP -- earning four stars apiece back in 2005 -- they have all recently been given a facelift and have been resubmitted to the tests as a result.
Unfortunately, it seems that the changes are largely cosmetic, with Euro NCAP criticising the companies for failing to keep abreast of the latest safety developments and standards.
Euro NCAP also highlighted the fact that the Aygo only achieved a three star rating thanks to the fitment of a range of safety equipment not available as standard on the production model.
The Aygo was fitted with side thorax airbags, side curtain airbags, electronic stability control, passenger seatbelt reminder and ISOFIX child seat mounting points. Without these improvements, the rating would probably have been much worse.
Toyota, Citroen and Peugeot have all pledged to include this equipment as standard by July 2013.
Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General, explained the results, saying: "Our test protocols have evolved significantly over the past few years.
"We see that some manufacturers continue to offer popular best sellers without making the necessary incremental updates to safety. It is those models that obviously fall behind other, more modern cars competing in the same category."
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