FLEET buyers will have to make do with a proxy measure of the safety performance of Britain's best-selling large MPV in the next New Car Assessment Programme crash tests. The Ford Galaxy does not appear in the short-list of eight MPVs to have their safety characteristics tested by independent experts.

This means fleet decision-makers will have to rely on the scores awarded to the VW Sharan - the Galaxy's factory-line sister along with the Seat Alhambra - for guidance to its crash test credentials.

The decision to test the Sharan rather than the Galaxy is based on the VW's superior sales across Europe, with NCAP being a pan-European initiative. Likewise, the Peugeot 806 is being tested as the representative of its triplet sisters the Citroen Synergie and Fiat Ulysse. A source at NCAP said that using the Sharan's crash performance as a proxy indication of how the Galaxy would fare was reasonable as both MPVs shared similar safety specifications. Other MPVs to be put through their safety paces by NCAP include the Renault Espace, Vauxhall Sintra, Nissan Serena, Peugeot 806, Toyota Picnic, Chrysler Voyager, and Mitsubishi Space Wagon. The results will be announced on June 29, and the NCAP source promised they will be 'very interesting'.

It has also become apparent that the RAC, one of NCAP's most vocal and influential supporters, will not be officially involved in the next round of tests because it has backed them financially.