2017 was a very busy year for Euro NCAP, the body that conducts crash tests in Europe and awards cars an all-important safety rating out of five stars. The organisation has, in conjunction with its UK partner Thatcham Research, conducted more tests than in any other year and has awarded a full range of ratings, from the zero-star Fiat Punto, to the five-star Volvo XC60.

In fact, Volvo's family SUV gained the highest ratings ever recorded, meaning it is currently the safest new car on sale in the UK.

The safety tests take into account everything from structural integrity to safety equipment, with a particular focus this year placed on automatic emergency braking (AEB) – a critical technology that can apply your car's brakes in the event of an accident. In fact, a car cannot gain five-star status unless it comes with AEB as standard.

Thatcham has praised car makers for increasingly fitting AEB as standard equipment, saying that the technology is "proven to reduce accidents".

Today's Euro NCAP testing system includes 15 safety tests, with crash testing only one component. The process is due to change in 2018, though, to include testing the effectiveness of AEB systems with pedestrian and cyclist detection. Euro NCAP says it is updating its regime to "reflect the surge in automated vehicle functions that we expect to see on the market in the coming years".

Click through this slideshow to see the ratings for every new car tested in 2017.