So whilst you’re not wrong that these cars currently hold the lowest ratings of cars tested with the new post-2020 procedure, I’m sure a lot of older cars would fare far worse.

The NCAP test advances over time so of course an older car would rate worse. NCAP updates its testing regime to incorporate safety functionality as it becomes mainstream, e.g. automatic emergency braking.

But these cars were tested against their peers in 2021, not older cars. This is not city car vs SUV but city car vs city car. The Dacia Spring, Jogger, Sandero and Renaul Zoe were the worst cars in the City / Supermini category. In the same year, that Dacia / Renault were scraping 0, 1 or 2 stars, Fiat 500e and Hyundai i20 were scoring 4 stars. I'd add that all the city cars tested in 2022 were also 4 or 5 star rating. It's actually funny in a way that the revamped Zoe scored worse than the original model for impact protection because they actually removed safety equipment.

So basically it's about Renault cheaping out on safety, nothing else. It's not acceptable. Maybe the driver / occupant are fine with the extra risk of injury or death in a collision. Doesn't mean the pedestrian / cyclist they hit was so on board with the idea.