Retested for top ratings
The Toyota Hiace and Mitsubishi Outlander have received significant updates to their safety specification in recent months with updated vehicles submitted for retesting and reassessment against ANCAP’s most stringent 2025 criteria.
The results demonstrate the proactive approach adopted by both manufacturers to ensure their products remain competitive and customers are provided with ongoing safety improvements.
The Toyota Hiace
When first released in New Zealand and Australia in 2019, the H30 series Hiace achieved a five-star rating against test criteria in place at the time. Six years on, Toyota has upgraded its high-selling commercial van, pictured above, adding expanded crash protection and avoidance features.
Enhancements have been added to vehicles built from June 2025, enabling it to achieve five-star performance in the more demanding MPDB frontal offset and far-side impact tests.
Both were introduced to the test regime in 2020 after the Hiace’s original 2019 assessment.
Key upgrades to the van include a centre airbag to reduce occupant-to-occupant injury risk, emergency lane keeping, intelligent adaptive cruise control and advanced speed-sign recognition.
Its significantly upgraded autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system is now capable of intervention in junction, crossing and head-on scenarios. Extended vulnerable road-user protection means the Hiace can now detect and respond to motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists.
Mitsubishi’s Outlander
The ZM series Outlander was first introduced down under in 2022 when it achieved five ANCAP stars. Updated petrol variants built from April 2025 and plug-in hybrids from July 2025 gain better restraints, centre-airbag effectiveness and whiplash performance.
There’s also expanded AEB capability, including turning and motorbike detection, a direct driver-monitoring system and broadened lane-support functionality.
Ongoing improvements
“ANCAP’s test and scoring protocols are intentionally updated every few years to recognise the safety advancements manufacturers bring to market and to encourage ongoing improvement,” says Carla Hoorweg, chief executive officer.
“Think of smartphones or computers. With each new version, consumers expect better performance and added features. Vehicles are no different. Safety should continually evolve and these reassessments demonstrate manufacturers’ commitment to ongoing improvements.”
The reassessment pathway has been available since 2018 and is open to any marque. To qualify, a manufacturer needs to show there have been significant safety-relevant changes. Reassessment criteria also apply when such changes are negative – for example, removing key features.
Other models that have undergone reassessment following upgrades include the Toyota Hilux, Volkswagen Polo and Golf, Isuzu D-Max, MG3 and MG5.
Hoorweg adds: “These reassessments confirm the Hiace and Outlander remain some of the safest fleet and family models on the market – five stars then and five stars now, despite tougher tests.”
