The passenger compartment of the Espace remained stable in the frontal offset test. Dummy numbers showed good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger.  Analysis of the driver's side dashboard after the test revealed some areas which could be more injurious to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions.  Protection of the driver’s chest was rated as weak, based on dummy readings of compression.  This is a poorer results than that of the Austral, where chest protection was marginal, but the overall star rating is not affacted.  Analysis of the deceleration of the impact trolley during the test, and analysis of the deformable barrier after the test, revealed that the Espace would be a moderately benign impact partner in a frontal collision. In the full width rigid barrier test, dummy readings of chest compression revealed marginal protection of this body region for the rear passenger.  All other critical body areas were rated as good or adequate, both for the driver and rear passenger.  In both the side barrier test and the more severe pole impact, protection of all critical body regions was good and the Espace scored maximum points in this part of the assessment.  Limitation of occupant excursion - the extent to which the occupant is flung to the other side of the vehicle in a side impact - was rated as adequate. The Espace has a centre airbag as a counter-measure against occupant to occupant injuries in side impacts. In Euro NCAP’s test, the airbag performed well, with good protection of the heads of the front seat occupants.  Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injures in the event of a rear-end collision. A geometric assessment of the rear seats also indicated good whiplash protection. The Espace has an advanced eCall system to alert the emergency services in the event of a collision and a system that automatically to avoid secondary collisions, although the latter was not assessed by Euro NCAP.

The Austral provided good or adequate protection to all critical body areas of the 6 and 10 year dummies, both in the frontal offset test and the side barrier impact.  The front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. Clear information is provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag and the system was rewarded. The user manual precludes the use of universal child restraints on the rear centre seat.  Otherwise, all of the child restraints for which the Austral is designed could be properly installed and accommodated in the car.

The protection offered by the bonnet to the head of a struck pedestrian was predominantly good or adequate, with areas of weak and poor protection at the base of the windscreen and on the stiff windscreen pillars. The bumper provided good or adequate protection to pedestrians’ legs at all test positions but protection of the pelvis was mixed. The Espace's autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system detects vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists, as well as other vehicles. In tests of the system's response to such road-users, performance was rated as good, with collisions avoided or mitigated in most test scenarios.

The Espace’s autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system performed well in tests of its reaction to other vehicles, with impacts avoided in most test cases. A seatbelt reminder system, including occupant detection, is standard for all seats and the Espace is also equipped with a driver monitoring system, which monitors steering inputs for patterns which are characteristic of a fatigued or inattentive driver. Lane assistance corrects the car's path if it is drifting out of lane and which also intervenes in some more critical situations. A camera based speed assistance system recognises local speed limits, allowing the speed limiter to be set appropriately.