Best Electric Car 2021: Safety

Safety is an all-important requirement for any vehicle segment, and electric cars are no different.

Spending up to $70,000 for a new EV should without exception deliver lots of reassurance for the buyer in terms of safety – from the fundamental integrity of the vehicle should it be involved in a crash, to the driver assist technology that helps avoid such an event occurring at all.

We think of EVs as modern, high-tech, new-age vehicles, which is reflected not only in their advanced zero-emissions powertrain but safety technology as well.

But across our eight contenders for carsales’ Best Electric Car 2021, there are some surprising anomalies.

Let’s have a look at what they all have in common.

In terms of driver assist tech, all EVs on test here are fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning (FCW), lane keeping assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW), electronic stability control (ESC), electronic brake assist (EBA) and an anti-lock braking system (ABS).

There’s also a minimum of six airbags – that is, dual front, front side and side curtain airbags.

Going a step further, five of our seven short-listed EVs include a driver’s knee airbag – the Hyundai IONIQ Electric Premium, Kia Niro EV Sport, Mazda MX-30 Electric Astina and Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus – while the Tesla adds another knee-protecting airbag for the front passenger.

The standout, however, is the Mazda MX-30 that also has a centre front airbag to avoid head-clash between the front occupants in the event of a crash, plus rear side airbags that add an extra layer of protection for people – often children – in the back seat. In total, Mazda’s first EV has 10 airbags fitted standard.

ANCAP safety ratings have been accorded for all of the EVs here except for the Kia Niro, MINI Cooper SE Yours and the Nissan LEAF e+.

In the case of the MINI, the combustion-engined version of this EV was given a maximum five-star result in 2014, but this EV version remains untested. The regular (40kWh) version of the Nissan LEAF was also crash tested in 2018 with a five-star result but, again, ANCAP has made it clear these ratings do not cover the new electric models here.

It’s worth mentioning that ANCAP standards to calculate safety ratings have increased twice in recent years – in 2017 and again in 2020 – so one five-star rating is not necessarily the same as another.

Of those EVs that have been tested by ANCAP, all were awarded five stars, albeit in different years and thus not to the same standards.

The most recent was the Mazda MX-30 in 2020, followed by the MG ZS EV and Tesla Model 3 in 2019. The rating for the Hyundai Kona Electric dates back to 2017, while the Hyundai IONIQ was tested even earlier (in 2016).

In addition to the driver assist features already mentioned, each of the EVs on test are fitted with tyre pressure monitoring and automatic high-beam functionality for the headlights.

However, that leaves a variety of safety systems that are missing on some or all of the EVs represented here.

For example, unlike everything else here, the MINI Cooper does not have inter-urban AEB (it is operational for city speeds only) or blind spot monitoring.

Driver fatigue monitoring missing from three models on test – the MINI Cooper again, but also the MG ZS EV and Tesla Model 3 – while rear cross traffic alert is similarly absent from both the MINI and the Tesla.

LED headlights are fitted to all but the MG ZS, which has halogen lights, first commonly fitted to mainstream cars such as the HZ Holden in the 1970s.

A speed limiter is offered only on the Kia Niro and MINI Cooper, while the Mazda MX-30 stands aloft as the sole vehicle on test to offer secondary collision mitigation. The latter automatically slows the car down via a two-stage braking operation to reduce the severity of a crash, particularly at mid-to-high speeds.

Each of our short-listed EVs is fitted with a reversing camera, although three of them augment low-speed manoeuvring and parking with a 360-degree view camera – the Mazda MX-30, Nissan LEAF e+ and Tesla Model 3.

Only the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro have a rear occupant alert that’s designed to prevent the driver exiting when a rear seat passenger is still seated.

The Hyundai Kona also has a safe exit warning to help prevent passengers opening a door after the vehicle stops if there’s a car or cyclist approaching from behind.

Related: All the latest EV info is at www.carsales.com.au/electric

Parking sensors front and rear are standard on both Hyundai EVs, the Mazda MX-30, MINI Cooper, Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model 3, while the Kia Niro and MG ZS make do with radar assistance at the rear-end only.

For a more detailed look at the safety of EVs compared to traditional ICE cars, see our separate feature on ‘How safe are electric cars?’.

Here’s how our contenders for Best Electric Car 2021 rate side-by-side across key specifications:

Hyundai IONIQ Electric Premium
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2016)
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 7/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: Yes
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Hyundai Kona Electric Extended Range Highlander
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2017)
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: Yes
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Kia Niro EV Sport
ANCAP safety rating (year): Untested
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 7/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: Yes
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: No/Yes

Mazda MX-30 Electric Astina
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2020)
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 10/Yes/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: Yes
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/Yes
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

MG ZS EV
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: Yes
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: No/Yes

MINI Cooper SE Yours
ANCAP safety rating (year): Untested
AEB: Yes (urban only)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: No
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: No
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Nissan LEAF e+
ANCAP safety rating (year): Not tested
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: Yes
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/Yes
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
AEB: Yes (inter-urban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 8/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: Yes
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: No
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/Yes
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Related: All the latest EV info is at www.carsales.com.au/electric