Great Wall Steed's safety slammed

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has given Great Wall's new Steed dual-cab ute a sub-standard two-star safety rating, labelling it a "poor performance".

In response to the poor rating, which ANCAP CEO James Goodwin described as a "disappointing result for consumers and the brand," Great Wall Motors Australia (GWMA) has pledged to take immediate action to improve the ute's crash safety.

"We have sent all the data to our engineering team in head office [in China] and set up a response team to investigate what needs to be done to improve the ANCAP performance of our product," said GWMA spokesperson Andrew Ellis.

"We thought the additional safety features would help improve the Steed's ANCAP rating. It's clear to everyone in the organisation our ANCAP test standards need a dramatic improvement."

Released in Australia last September, when it relaunched the pioneering Chinese brand Down Under, the Steed comes with six airbags and stability control – safety features not found on its V-series predecessor, but ANCAP found these did little to improve occupant protection.

As well as "excessive footwell deformation" occurring in frontal offset crash testing, which can results in lower leg injuries, ANCAP noted that elements of the dashboard were "a potential injury source for both the driver and passenger".

However, ANCAP scored the Steed a maximum 16 out of 16 for the side impact protection, despite not conducting the test, stating: "Experience shows that large vehicles like the Steed can be expected to perform well in this test. ANCAP has adopted a policy of awarding these types of vehicles a default score of 16 points (out of 16)."

It also did not test the Steed in a pole crash test, noting that it "was not conducted due to its poor performance in the frontal offset test."

The overall score for the Great Wall Steed was 16.49 out of 37, or two out of five stars, and ANCAP stated: "…there has been little change to the vehicle's structure to improve the safety of the passenger cabin".

Great Wall has made confident claims of improved safety for its vehicles in recent times but ANCAP is now advising buyers "to be wary of such claims" after its recent testing.

Hyundai i30, Honda Civic score top marks

Meantime, ANCAP testing of the new Hyundai i30 and Honda Civic small cars resulted in five-star safety ratings. The Hyundai scored a total of 35.01 out of 37, the Honda 34.68.

In the frontal offset crash test, ANCAP said the i30's "passenger compartment held its shape well" and that the "pedal and steering wheel displacements were well controlled".

It went on to report that the airbags were effective, all doors remained closed during the crash and after the collision "all doors could be opened with normal effort".

While the new i30 hatch goes on sale here May, the latest Civic sedan and newly launched Civic hatch was likewise praised, with almost identical results in all respects of the frontal offset test.

ANCAP has also tested the new BMW 5 Series sedan and Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo Activity, a variant of the Mercedes-Benz V-Class people-mover. Both models scored five-star ANCAP safety ratings, following strong results in all areas of safety, active and passive.