Toyota Prius, Tough Toyota

The third generation Prius might allow you to out-smug your neighbours on the greenness scale, but its 70mpg capability and sub-100g/km CO₂ emissions doesn't come at a cost to your safety. Scoring the full five stars in the Euro NCAP test, the Prius is a car you'll be happy to put your family in on your trip to the recycling centre.

Breaking down the result, the Prius scored 88% for adult occupant protection, 82% for child protection, 68% for pedestrian protection and 86% for safety assist. That's good, but looked at closely it's not quite as good as Honda's Insight, which in all but the child protection rating scored higher marks. Even so, if you're after a safe and green car you could do a lot worse.

Kyle Fortune