2023 GWM Ora, Alfa Romeo Tonale, Citroen C5 X earn top crash safety rating
Meanwhile, 2023 Peugeot 308, BMW i4 fall a star short in ANCAP safety assessmentsAustralia’s crash safety watchdog has rewarded the 2023 GWM Ora, Alfa Romeo Tonale, Citroen C5 X with its top five-star rating, although another two cars were marked down – one because it fell a bit short in occupant safety, and the other because it failed to turn up for testing.
The GWM Ora, a small electric hatch from Chinese car-making giant GWM, the Alfa Romeo Tonale, the first compact SUV from the Italian brand, and the Citroen C5 X mid-size SUV were all awarded the top five stars in the latest round of Australasian New Car Assessment Program testing revealed today.
The GWM Ora and Alfa Romeo Tonale’s five-star rating were assessed against ANCAP’s criteria using European test data.
The GWM Ora earned a higher average mark with an adult occupant protection score of 92 per cent, child occupant protection score of 84 per cent, vulnerable road user protection score of 74 per cent and safety assist score of 93 per cent.
This compared with the Tonale’s respective scores of 84, 87, 67 and 85 per cent across the same assessment criteria, though the two models could never be classed as direct rivals.
In contrast, the Peugeot 308 small hatchback and fully electric BMW i4 fastback sedan were marked down to four stars for very different reasons.
Even though the Australian version has a more advanced automated emergency braking system compared with the version of it tested in Europe, the Peugeot lost a star only because its occupant protection could have been a bit better.
The BMW i4 was awarded a four-star rating based on its 2022 European crash test that
marked it down over the performance of its automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping systems. BMW did not ask ANCAP to re-rate the i4 even though it said Australian-delivered cars had since improved both systems.
ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg said the GWM Ora’s strong performance had made it “the only battery-electric powered car in the small car segment to hold a five-star ANCAP safety rating against the 2020-2022 test criteria”.
She said the Alfa Romeo Tonale became the latest addition to a growing list of “small SUVs with strong and green safety credentials”.
A surprise result to come out of this latest round of testing was the five stars awarded to the Citroen C5 X, which was only earned a four-star rating when tested in Europe last year.
ANCAP says the sleek new SUV was awarded an extra star locally because the Australian versions have a more advanced camera-radar autonomous emergency braking system than its camera-only Euro counterparts.
“The improved active safety specification and performance sees the Safety Assist score for Australian-sold C5 X vehicles rise to 84 per cent, which is well within our requirements for five stars,” Hoorweg said.
The rest of the Citroen’s score card gave it 82 and 88 per cent marks for its adult and child occupant protection respectively, as well as a 69 per cent mark for vulnerable road user protection.
Related: Dozens of new models from Mazda CX-3 to Toyota Prado lose their safety ratings
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