Three cars earn five-star ANCAP ratings

Four cars have been tested in the latest round of Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) safety ratings, with three of four receiving a five-star rating. The Audi A5, Volvo S90 and Hyundai Ioniq hybrid all achieved the top rating. A second Hyundai model, the i20 hatch and crossover, only received four stars. This rating applies to vehicles released in New Zealand from December last year. AA Motoring Services general manager Stella Stocks said the result will be disappointing for consumers, and the Korean brand usually has a strong track record for car safety. “Safety standards are rising, which means car markets need to push harder to meet consumer expectations,” Stocks said. Most new cars come with crash prevention technology such as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and emergency brake assist as standard. However, none of these are available on the i20. The Hyundai hatch scored lower marks in child occupant protection, which was rated at 73 per cent, and safety assist, rated at 64 per cent. Adult occupant protection was rated at 85 per cent. The other three cars were lauded for their safety features by ANCAP chief executive officer James Goodwin. “Autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and reversing collision avoidance are however standard on all variants of the new hybrid model introduced by Hyundai – the Ioniq. Lane support systems and a manual speed limiter are also standard features adding to its top safety credentials,” he said. The five-star rating applies to all vehicles produced from February this year. Goodwin added that the advanced safety technologies on the Volvo S90 “performed extremely well, with complete collision avoidance in all scenarios and at all test speeds,” but noted the knee airbag, which is standard in European models, was not found in Australasian models. Volvo S90s sold after October 2016 fall under the five-star rating. “High scores were also achieved by the Audi A5 which is equipped with an ‘active’ bonnet and advanced AEB system which can detect and avoid collisions with pedestrians,” Goodwin concluded. The rating applies to cars produced March onwards. Safety specifications, however, do differ between the Australasian A5 models, with adaptive cruise control and lane support systems standard for New Zealand consumers but optional in Australia.