ANCAP: Nissan Pathfinder gets five stars for safety

The 2023 Nissan Pathfinder has earned itself a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating after the new-generation large SUV did particularly well in the area of child occupant protection, where it scored a solid 93 per cent.

The big seven-seat SUV scored 86 and 78 per cent for its adult occupant and vulnerable road user protection respectively, and 85 per cent for its safety assists.

Testers awarded full marks for the Pathfinder’s driver protection in the side impact and oblique pole tests and then again for its passenger protection in the frontal offset test.

It also netted maximum points for its child occupant protection in the frontal offset and side impact tests, however, chest protection for the rear (adult) passenger in the full-width frontal test was rated as ‘weak’.

The bulk of the other test’s yielded ‘good’ results – something ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said was in line with Nissan’s current safety track record.

“We’ve seen some impressive safety results from Nissan this year with the Qashqai, X-Trail, and now the Pathfinder all achieving five-star safety ratings,” she said.

“We look forward to seeing Nissan continue their commitment to offering the highest levels of safety for Australian and New Zealand customers with future models.”

A host of other new models also garnered equivalent five-star Euro NCAP safety ratings in the latest and final round of testing under the 2022 protocols, however, there were a couple of letdowns that could be relevant to Australian consumers.

The Lucid Air, Lexus RX, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Chery Omoda 5, MG MG4, Volkswagen Amarok and just-updated Skoda Octavia were all awarded five stars, whereas the Ford Puma, Volkswagen Touran, Peugeot 408 and Citroen C4 X only netted four stars.

The Puma in particular is an interesting one because NCAP is referencing a recent model update as the reason for its retesting, yet there’s been no word from Ford of Europe or any other official channels as to any sort of update beyond the addition of a new limited-edition variant.

ANCAP awarded the Puma five stars when it tested the compact SUV back in 2019, but the more stringent 2020-22 protocols – shared by ANCAP and NCAP – have seen it stripped of its top safety rating and awarded a sub-par four-star rating.

In a media release issued this week, NCAP said the new rating was applied “due to challenges in adult occupant protection” against the stricter testing criteria.

Ford Australia is looking into the matter and what ramifications it could have locally, and says it will update carsales accordingly.

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