NEW cars on sale in the UK and Europe are suffering from a potentially dangerous disease - and it's causing serious concern for safety authorities.

It's being dubbed as ‘car bloat' and it's all down to the increasing popularity of bigger and heavier SUVs and electric models.

Belgian-based safety organisation Euro NCAP says that the average weight of cars sold in Europe has increased by 100kg in the last decade and this has led to the organisation having to modify a crucial part of its crash safety testing regime which evaluates how models perform when crashing head-on into another vehicle.

As a result, a number of heavier SUVs - many of them premium models - have been penalised in Euro NCAP crash safety testing recently because they could pose a higher threat to other road users.

The organisation stresses that this does not mean they are unsafe cars, but, even so, is calling on car makers to improve the vehicle crash compatibility of future models and not to accept settling for the status quo.

In its latest round of tests, Euro NCAP put 16 new models through the safety organisation's impartial assessment of their crash protection, crash prevention and post-crash safety.

Maximum five-star ratings were scored by the new Audi A5 PHEV, Audi Q5, Volkswagen Tayron, MG S5EV, Tesla Model 3, Toyota C-HR PHEV and Chinese newcomer the Voyah Courage. The new Kia EV3 was also awarded five stars but only when fitted with an optional safety pack.

The reborn, fully electric Renault 4, Ford Torneo Custom and its' all-electric variant, the Kia EV3 without the safety pack, the Paugeot 3008 and 5008 and the Volkswagen were all awarded four stars while the latest model from budget brand Dacia, the Bigster, only achieved three stars, reflecting, according to Euro NCAP, its no-frills, low-budget reputation.