RENAULT has celebrated double top honours for its New Megane in recent Euro NCAP crash tests.

The New Megane - recently voted International Car of the Year - and the Vel Satis executive sector car have now joined Laguna as members of an exclusive club - holders of the maximum five-star rating, with the added advantage of ranking “best in class” in their respective market sectors.

New Megane is the first lower medium sector to achieve the five-star rating. According to Renault, New Megane is a worthy successor to Megane I, which had remained “best in class” since 1998.

The Vel Satis is now the safest car in the executive model segment. New Megane and Vel Satis join the Laguna in the five-star club, as it was the first car to score the maximum rating.

The front seats of the Vel Satis feature seatbelts built into the seat as opposed to being attached to the B-pillar as in conventional cars, meaning they are always in the correct position no matter how the seat is adjusted.

Coupled with pre-tensioners and a load-limiter, this provides Vel Satis passengers with one extra safety feature.

New Megane Hatch is the first car to have a double seatbelt load limiter - one attached to the top shoulder strap end of the belt in the B-pillar and one attached to the other end of the belt close to the passenger’s lap. This means that in an impact more slack can be taken out of the seatbelt holding the passenger tighter in the seat.

As with Laguna, Euro NCAP underlined the excellent crash resistance of the structures in the New Megane and Vel Satis. The cabin was totally intact after the impact, with no intrusion.

The Vel Satis is made of high tensile steel, which is two and a half times stronger than conventional steels. The front and rear cross members, also made of high tensile steel, absorb a large proportion of kinetic energy in the event of a front impact to ensure optimum occupant protection.

The components housed in the engine compartment have been designed to collapse together and play an active role in the programmed deformation of the structure.