ANCAP rates i30, Lancer and new Laguna highly

A car's market acceptance increasingly hinges on how well it rates in independent crash safety testing.

So, it's no great leap to surmise that Hyundai was very unhappy with the original EuroNCAP four-star rating for the company's i30 small car (more here).

Subsequently, the i30 in Australian specification has been tested locally and has notched up a five-star score. The Aussie site (view it here), notes that EuroNCAP tested a left-hand drive version of the i30 -- one without the safety upgrade for the Australian and NZ markets, effective from June of this year.

That safety upgrade includes an "upgraded knee impact zone" and side curtain airbag availability. These changes appear to have been enough for the i30 to fall across the line into five-star territory.

The i30 scored a total of 32.54 points out of possible maximum tally of 37. Of the other two cars to score five-star ratings in the latest round of ANCAP testing, the larger Renault Laguna recorded a score of 35.91 and the Mitsubishi Lancer split the difference with 33.56 points. None of the three scored more than two points for pedestrian safety.

Two other cars tested were the Holden AH Astra CD hatch without side curtain airbags and the Kia Rondo. Both those cars recorded four-star ratings and a one-star rating for pedestrian safety. The Astra posted an overall score of 31.54 and the Rondo achieved 27.21 points.

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