Do you know which is Australia’s safest car?
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has released its findings for Australia’s safest car for 2022 and the ‘winners’ may surprise you.
In top place is the Tesla Model Y, with an overall rating of 92.6 per cent, followed by the Lexus NX with an 89 per cent rating. Third place is shared by the LDV MIFA 9 and LDV MIFA on 87.4 per cent.
“Once again, we’ve seen high levels of safety performance across a range of vehicle types and brands,” says ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg.
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“Of interest this year is that each of the three highest scorers include alternative-powered models.”
ANCAP crash tests cars and conducts performance assessments on safety features and technologies and then publishes a simple star rating system on their performance.
According to ANCAP, 61 of the 69 vehicles it rated over the past three years achieved a maximum five-star rating.
“This clearly shows the desire and commitment of vehicle manufacturers to offer the safest vehicles they can into the Australian and New Zealand market, and the continued appetite of consumers and fleet buyers who expect the highest level of safety,” Ms Hoorweg says.
Cars are rated on four key areas of safety assessment: passive safety, child occupant protection, active safety and post-crash safety.
Rating requirements are updated every three years. For example, following 2022’s destructive floods, in 2023 ANCAP will assess safety features for cars submerged in water.
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The star rating results are valid for six years and ANCAP tests only new cars.
Each car is given a simple five-star rating, with vehicles required to meet minimum score thresholds for each star level. The overall rating is limited by its lowest performing assessment to encourage manufacturers to improve safety across all areas.
“We know the continued injection of the safest vehicles onto our roads has tangible road safety and economic benefits,” says Ms Hoorweg, “and this strong performance of models rated over the past three years will see an even greater number of lives saved and serious injury avoided.”
ANCAP recommends safety changes to the government and estimates its encouragement of autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and central airbag technologies has ‘conservatively’ contributed to 22 fewer fatalities and 571 fewer serious injuries on Australian roads during the period 2019–21.
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ANCAP is one of nine New Car Assessment Programs (NCAP) around the world, with the other programs in Europe, the US, Japan, Korea, China, Latin American and South-East Asia.
However, ANCAP says while the tests are similar across the world, protocols and calculation methods differ, so safety ratings from overseas test programs should not be applied to models sold in Australia and New Zealand.
If you’re planning to buy a new car and want to know its safety rating, you can visit ANCAP here.
Is a car’s safety level important to you? Why or why not? Why not share your opinion in the comments section below?
