Record top safety scores

The new Mazda CX-60 has been given a five-star safety rating with it boosting good all-round performance when assessed against ANCAP’s 2020-22 criteria. 

Record top scores were achieved for child-occupant protection at 93 per cent and vulnerable road-user protection at 89 per cent.

The CX-60, pictured, is fitted with a suite of advanced active-safety technologies designed to avoid a crash. 

High scores were recorded for its performance in all autonomous emergency braking tests with pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles, including in “turn across path” intersection test scenarios.

The SUV’s lane-support system showed some areas of good performance, although performance in the more advanced emergency lane-keeping scenarios was assessed as marginal.

Physical crash tests of the CX-60, which comes with plug-in hybrid petrol and diesel variants, saw full scores awarded for protection of the driver and child occupants in the side-impact test, and to the driver in the more severe oblique-pole test. 

The child-restraint installation assessment also showed that all such restraint types could be safely accommodated in all three rear seating positions.

In the frontal-offset test, good results were seen for the front passenger. However adequate and marginal performance was recorded for the chest and legs of the driver in this test scenario with penalties applied for potential knee injury risk for occupants of different sizes and incorrect knee-airbag deployment.

The CX-60 is fitted with a centre airbag in the front row, which is designed to reduce occupant to occupant and occupant-to-vehicle contact, and full points were scored in tests of its effectiveness.

Carla Hoorweg, ANCAP’s chief executive officer, says: “The CX-60 will be a welcome and safe addition to the medium SUV segment, and provide varied choice to customers looking for a safe and environmentally friendly vehicle.”