Five safety stars for Equinox and Kona

Holden’s new Equinox mid-size SUV and Hyundai’s new Kona small SUV have received a maximum five-star rating from Australian vehicle safety watchdog ANCAP.

However, the latest SUV from the born-again MG brand, the pint-size ZS, has been awarded a sub-standard four-star ANCAP safety rating.

The MG ZS scored just 10.46 points out of 16.00 points in the frontal offset crash test. ANCAP said insufficient inflation of the passenger airbag caused ‘bottoming-out’ of the dummy head through the airbag and onto the dash, and a penalty was applied.

“Protection for the driver’s knee area was also insufficient,” it said, adding that the ZS does not offer any form of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system – which will become mandatory for a five-star safety rating from 2018, or lane support functions.

While a four-star rating applies to all MG ZS variants, a direct competitor in the Kona and the larger Equinox both offered higher levels of occupant protection, resulting in a five-star rating for all variants.

“SUVs are now the top-selling vehicle segment in Australia and New Zealand and these ratings speak clearly that some are safer than others,” said ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin.

“We were impressed earlier this year with the safety performance of MG’s larger GS model – the very first Chinese vehicle to achieve the top safety rating – however its smaller stablemate, the ZS, does not perform as well.

“Its rating is held back to 4 stars due to sub-par performance in our head-on crash test.”

In contrast, Goodwin said the Kona offers good all-round safety.

“Its crash test performance was well within five-star range, and AEB is offered for all variants though it must be optioned on the base variant in Australia. AEB is, however, a standard inclusion on all New Zealand variants.”

Likewise, ANCAP said the Equinox is also “a good structural performer in all physical crash tests”, but cautioned that consumers will need to opt for more expensive variants to receive the added safety benefits of AEB and lane keep assist.