CX-9 wins safety award

The Mazda CX-9 has won the AMI NZ Autocar magazine Car of the Year Safety Award. The AMI NZ Autocar Car of the Year Safety Award was awarded for the first time last year to the Volvo XC90. The Mazda CX-9 was selected from the six cars chosen as finalists in the existing AMI Autocar Car of the Year categories. The six categories are based on the price bracket the vehicles fall within or by their classification as a luxury or performance car. To determine the winner of the safety award, judges used a mix of ANCAP safety ratings data and on road reviews of new proactive safety features that assist with crash avoidance in New Zealand driving conditions. Mark Piskulic, AMI Motor Assessor and part of the judging panel said drivers can now purchase vehicles with high levels of safety technology for a competitive price. “The Mazda CX-9 is a great example of this, combining an ANCAP 5 Star safety rating with other safety features such as lane departure warning, driver attention alert, blind spot monitoring and autonomous braking (to name a few), all in a new car that costs less than $60,000." Kevin Hughes, Executive General Manager – Consumer IAG, also reinforced why acknowledging safety improvements and the vehicle brands that invest in this area is so important. “We believe that by raising awareness of road safety and rewarding the brands that invest in vehicle safety is something that we can do to make New Zealand a safer place."