Best Electric Car 2022: Safety

To put it bluntly, there are some surprising safety equipment omissions among the 13 contenders for carsales’ Best Electric Car 2022, despite them carrying price tags of up to $75,000 (before on-road costs) and representing the new age of motoring.

Every model tested here is fitted standard with key ‘active’ safety systems such as 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).

They also come with tyre pressure monitoring, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

But diving deeper into the specification, we soon see some important differences.

First up, the new BYD Atto 3 and the MINI Electric have only ‘city’ AEB, meaning they operate at low speeds but not at higher speeds, which is where ‘inter-urban’ AEB comes into play. The latter is included in all other models represented here in Best EV.

Secondly, the MINI Electric, the new MG ZS EV Excite and the Polestar 2 don’t have blind spot monitoring as standard equipment; it’s unavailable in the MINI, it's only fitted to the top-spec Essence in the MG, while Polestar requires you to pay extra for it with the Pilot Lite option pack.

The Polestar 2 also relies on a regular cruise control system, which is at odds with the rest of the field which carries a more sophisticated active cruise control (ACC) system with stop-and-go functionality.

Again, the Polestar 2 has this safety feature bundled into the Pilot Lite pack.

While we’re at it, we should note that rear cross traffic alert is similarly optional on the Polestar 2 – and, notably, not available on the MINI EV or either the Tesla Model 3 or Model Y. And, again, it’s also no longer standard on the MG ZS EV at entry level.

Driver fatigue monitoring is also becoming commonplace on new vehicles, but it’s not found on the MINI, the two Tesla EVs or the MG ZS EV we have on test.

LED headlights soon prove their worth when travelling outside the city limits at night, and are fitted to all but three models among our Best Electric Car cohort: the Hyundai Kona Electric Elite, Kia Niro EV S and MG ZS EV Excite.

The Hyundai has projector-type halogen and the other two have conventional reflector halogen headlights.

The reversing camera is augmented by a 360-degree bird’s-eye view camera in less than half of the models on test. The welcome feature is fitted to the BYD Atto 3, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Mazda MX-30 Electric, Nissan LEAF and both the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Many of the cars have a speed-limiter, but a handful do not. Those that do without it are the BYD Atto 3, Hyundai Kona Electric, Mazda MX-30 Electric, MG ZS EV and Nissan LEAF.

Only the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro have a rear occupant alert, while just the two Hyundai EVs, the IONIQ 5 and Kona, have a handy safe exit warning system.

Front parking sensors? They’re seen widely across our contenders, but aren’t standard in the Hyundai Kona Electric Elite, Kia Niro EV S, MG ZS EV Excite or Polestar 2.

You can expect that each EV gathered here will have at least six airbags – that is, dual front, front side and side curtain airbags.

But some of our contenders go further than that, with the Kia Niro, Lexus UX 300e, Mazda MX-30 and the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 adding an extra airbag to protect the driver’s knees, while the two Tesla models and the Lexus have a knee airbag for the front passenger as well.

Furthermore, some of the latest EVs represented here also add the increasingly common centre front airbag, which is designed to prevent head-clash between the driver and front passenger in the event of a collision.

These include the BYD Atto 3, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6, Kia Niro, Polestar 2 and Mazda MX-30.

In fact, the Mazda MX-30 has 10 airbags protecting the occupants, as it’s the only one to have rear side airbags as well.

Importantly, there are five EVs here that have secondary collision mitigation, which activates in the event of a significant crash event to reduce the impact of (or possibly avoid) subsequent collisions.

These are the Kia Niro EV, Kia EV6, Lexus UX 300e, Mazda MX-30 Electric and the Polestar 2.

As we often mention in our Best Cars awards, ANCAP’s standards and requirements have evolved in recent years to better reflect industry advancements and higher consumer expectations.

Assessment criteria changes in 2017 and again in 2020 mean that the ANCAP safety rating ‘date stamps’ are now as important as the actual star rating itself. A maximum five-star rating from 2014 is not the same as one given in 2022.

And of the 13 EVs on test, a couple of them do not carry an ANCAP rating at all.

Maximum five-star ANCAP safety ratings have been awarded to 11 of these EVs, but only six of them have been tested under the current standards: the Polestar 2, Kia EV6, Kia Niro EV and Tesla Model Y (2022), and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (2021) and Mazda MX-30 (2020).

The Lexus UX 300e, MG ZS EV, Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model 3 were tested under 2019 protocols, while the Hyundai Kona Electric dates back to 2017.

The MINI Cooper was given a five-star result way back in 2014 with a petrol engine, but as an EV it remains untested.

The other model that is still unrated by ANCAP is the new BYD Atto 3.

BYD Atto 3 Standard Range
ANCAP safety rating (year): Not tested
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (urban AEB only)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 7/No/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Hyundai IONIQ 5 Dynamiq RWD
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2021)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 7/No/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Hyundai Kona Electric Standard Range Elite
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2017)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Kia EV6 Air RWD
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2022)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 7/No/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: 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 S
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2022)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 8/Yes/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Lexus UX 300e Luxury
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 8/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Mazda MX-30 Electric E35 Astina
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2020)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 10 (incl rear side)/Yes/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: 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 Excite
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: No
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: No
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: No/Yes

MINI Electric Hatch Classic
ANCAP safety rating (year): Untested
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (urban AEB only)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: No
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
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Polestar 2 Standard Range Single Motor
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2022)
ACC/Stop-go: No (opt)
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver knee/centre front: 7/No/Yes
Blind spot monitoring: No (opt)
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

Tesla Model 3 RWD
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver (and passenger) knee/centre front: 8/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: 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

Tesla Model Y RWD
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2022)
ACC/Stop-go: Yes/Yes
AEB/FCW: Yes (interurban)
Airbags/driver (and passenger) knee/centre front: 8/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: 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