Best Small Car 2021: Safety

There has been a huge ramp up in safety technologies for new vehicles over the past five to 10 years – so much so that what was once considered a high-tech protective feature in an exotic supercar is now expected in a mainstream hatchback like the nine represented here.

In all of the models vying for carsales’ Best Small Car 2021, you will see the staples of autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning (FCW), lane keeping assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW), electronic stability control (ESC), electronic brake assist (EBA), anti-lock braking system (ABS) and a reversing camera.

All the small cars in this group carry a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, but given that independent vehicle safety assessment has become more stringent in recent years – ANCAP standards were upgraded in 2017 and again in 2020 – the ‘date stamp’ of each rating is now far more relevant.

Keeping this in mind, the Subaru Impreza received its five-star rating in 2016, the Honda Civic and Hyundai i30 in 2017 and the Kia Cerato and Toyota Corolla in 2018.

The remainder – the Ford Focus, Mazda3, Skoda Scala and even the just-launched Volkswagen Golf – were all based on the 2019 assessment criteria. In the Golf’s case, the rating is based on testing performed by Euro NCAP when the Mk8 model hit Europe, so it avoided the tough new protocols introduced in 2020.

Right across our list of contenders, there’s a surprisingly diverse list of advanced driver assist safety (ADAS) systems fitted as standard.

While the Mazda3 and Skoda Scala have ‘city AEB’ designed for urban environments, the rest also have high-speed AEB functionality.

What’s more, only five models on test – the Kia Cerato, Mazda3, Skoda Scala, Subaru Impreza and Volkswagen Golf – have reverse (low-speed) AEB as standard.

Blind spot monitoring is not available in the Hyundai i30 N Line Premium hatch (although it is standard in the sedan), and for the Ford Focus it’s contained within an option pack.

As well as blind spot monitoring, a more advanced blind spot collision avoidance system is fitted to the Kia Cerato and Volkswagen Golf.

All models on test have a reversing camera, but only the Mazda3's is augmented by a 360-degree camera view.

You’d think that front and rear parking sensors would be fitted standard to all models at this level, but the Skoda Scala only has them at the rear-end and the Subaru Impreza and Toyota Corolla require an extra outlay to have them at all.

Secondary collision mitigation, where the brakes are automatically applied in the event of a large impact to reducing the chance of further collisions, is part of the safety suite in the Ford Focus, Mazda3, Skoda Scala and the Volkswagen Golf only.

LED headlights are fitted to all models here, while auto high-beam is standard on all but the Skoda Scala.

Front and rear fog lights are fitted to the Ford Focus, Kia Cerato, Skoda Scala and Toyota Corolla, while the Honda Civic and Subaru Impreza have fog lights at the front only and the Volkswagen Golf at the rear only. The Hyundai i30 and Mazda3 do not have fog lights at all.

Tyre pressure monitoring is present and correct in all but the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla.

As you’ll see in our specs list below, there are other differences to note, too, including the fact that only the VW Golf has rear-side airbags; all the others make do with head-protecting curtain airbags that extend from the front to the rear.

Ford Focus ST-Line
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 6/No/No
Blind spot monitoring: Opt
Forward collision warning: Yes
Lane departure warning: Yes
Lane keep assist: Yes
Rear cross traffic alert: No (opt)
Rear/360-degree camera: Yes/No
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Honda Civic RS
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2017)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 6/No/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/No
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Hyundai i30 N Line Premium
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2017)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 7/Yes/No
Blind spot monitoring: No
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 Cerato GT
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2018)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 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

Mazda3 G25 Astina
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 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/Yes
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes

Skoda Scala Signature
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 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

Subaru Impreza 2.0i-S
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2016)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 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/No

Toyota Corolla ZR
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2018)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 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/No

Volkswagen Golf R-Line
ANCAP safety rating (year): Five-star (2019)
AEB: Yes
Airbags/driver’s knee/rear side: 8/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/No
Parking sensors front/rear: Yes/Yes