11 Jun 2012

Safety ranks highly across new releases

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) today announced more good news for consumers with the Mazda CX-5, Honda Civic Hatch and BMW 3 Series all awarded maximum 5 star ANCAP safety ratings. While not quite reaching the top rating, the all wheel drive variant of the new XUV500 SUV by Mahindra has recorded a creditable 4 star result with side curtain airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard features.

Recently entering the Australasian market, Mazda’s new compact SUV, the CX-5, has followed its larger model counterpart, the CX-7, in achieving the top safety rating of 5 stars with its all wheel drive diesel variant. The CX-5 is available with an impressive list of additional Safety Assist Technologies (SAT) including blind spot monitoring (BSM) and lane departure warning (LDW) as well as six airbags. The drawback however is that BSM and LDW are only available as an option on the up-spec Grand Touring variant.

“We’ve already seen the CX-5 take the prize for best-selling compact SUV in Australia last month, and with Australian consumers’ demand for compact SUVs rising by 5.8 per cent last year, the CX-5’s 5 star safety rating is likely to boost sales even further,” said ANCAP Chair, Mr Lauchlan McIntosh.

“While the CX-5 achieved a 5 star rating, the fact that the additional SAT of BSM and LDW are only available as an optional extra on the Grand Touring variant at an additional cost of thousands of dollars is most disappointing,” he said.

“The highest levels of safety including SAT should be standard on all variants,” he added.

The Honda Civic Hatch and BMW 320d also provide consumers with safer motoring choices, each receiving a 5 star ANCAP safety rating.

“Both vehicles scored highly in ANCAP tests and both include daytime running lights, making them more visible to other road users,” Mr McIntosh said.

ANCAP is supported by all Australian and New Zealand motoring clubs, the Australian Government, the New Zealand Government, all Australian state governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, NRMA Insurance and the FIA Foundation.

For a full list of ANCAP safety ratings and model specifications, and vehicle safety information visit ancap.com.au.

Mazda CX-5 (2012 - Aug 2016) frontal offset test at 64km/h

Honda Civic hatch (2012 - onward) frontal offset test at 64km/h

BMW 320d (2012 - onward) frontal offset test at 64km/h