The 2015 Mazda 2 Hatch has officially been rated four stars in Euro NCAP - the B-segmenter garnered respectable scores of 86% for adult protection, 78% for child protection and 84% for pedestrian protection, but a 64% safety assist score pulled down its overall rating.

The variant tested was the 1.5 Core, incorporating front, head and side airbags, Isofix, stability control and an active bonnet as standard. Autonomous city braking is available as an option, but not fitted to the test car, and high-speed emergency braking is not available at all.

Autonomous emergency braking is a pre-requisite for five stars here, and according to Euro NCAP, because the low-speed system "is not standard equipment, (it) did not qualify for inclusion in the assessment."

Worth noting is the fact that the Mazda 2 scored maximum points in the severe pole impact test, in which the car is propelled sideways at 32 km/h into a rigid pole. Also, in the frontal offset barrier test, the passenger compartment remained stable, and max points were given for passenger dummy protection.

However, a fraction of a point was deducted for the driver's leg (owing to the absence of knee airbags), and reduced whiplash protection for rear passengers is mentioned.

View the full Mazda 2 Euro NCAP crash test report on CarBase.my.