THE Renault Laguna is still the safest car to protect its occupants in a crash, according to Euro NCAP, after the latest tests show no vehicle could achieve a five-star rating.

Upper-medium saloons were tested this month and the Ford Mondeo, Citroen C5, BMW 3-series, Skoda Octavia and Volvo S60 all scored well with four-stars.

The new Honda Stream mini-MPV also achieved a four-star rating. However, the gap between the latest cars and older designs was shown with the Vauxhall Vectra, Peugeot 406 and Rover 25 each achieving three stars.

But two new cars also achieved a three-star rating - the Hyundai Elantra and the 2001 European car of the Year, the Alfa 147 - while overall performance in pedestrian safety was poor.