14 Dec 2016

Latest 5 star requirements met by Fiat, Subaru and Mercedes-Benz models

Leading independent vehicle safety advocate, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), today published safety credentials for the Fiat 500X, Subaru Impreza and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. All three meet the latest 2016 requirements for 5 stars.

“The release of these ratings sees a diverse spread of models meet the highest safety standards,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Mr James Goodwin.

“The Small Car and Compact SUV categories are highly competitive and the Impreza and 500X carry the 2016 datestamp providing consumers with a leading choice in their respective categories,” he said.

The Fiat 500X and Subaru Impreza achieved high scores in each of the destructive crash tests however autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane support systems (LSS) are available only on higher specified variants and are not offered on the base variant.

“It’s disappointing these technologies have not been provided as standard across their respective model ranges and for the safety of all road users we want to see an increase in the fitting of this technology,” said Mr Goodwin.

“The E-Class has been awarded a 2016 datestamp and provides a long list of standard safety features and technologies including all three grades of autonomous emergency braking, an active bonnet for increased pedestrian protection and pre-crash systems which prepare for an impact in order to minimise occupant injury.”

The Impreza and E-Class both achieved ‘Good’ ratings for pedestrian protection with the 500X falling just shy of this top rating.

“This caps off a remarkable year for pedestrian protection with almost all vehicles rated in 2016 achieving either ‘Acceptable’ or ‘Good’ ratings,” Mr Goodwin said.

The 5 star rating for the Fiat 500X applies to all front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive variants built from July 2016. The Impreza and E-Class ratings apply to all variants.

Subaru Impreza (Nov 2016 – onwards) pole test at 29km/h

Mercedes-Benz E-Class (Jul 2016 – onwards) pole test at 32km/h