New Toyota LandCruiser earns top safety rating

Arguably the most in-demand new vehicle in Australia has also now proven to be one of the safest, with the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series being handed a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Performing well across all assessment areas, the new-generation Toyota LandCruiser was rated highly for vulnerable road user protection under ANCAP’s stringent 2020-2022 protocols, scoring 81 per cent – one of the best results to date in this category.

It also achieved 89 per cent for adult occupant production and 88 per cent for child occupant protection.

However, due to its large size and weight, ANCAP unsurprisingly found the large 4x4 off-roader posed a higher risk to occupants of oncoming vehicles.

“Larger, heavier vehicles always present higher risks for other road users and this is why ANCAP focuses on a vehicle’s ability to either avoid a crash, or reduce its impact, through our suite of safety assist tests,” said ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg.

As a result, the Toyota LandCruiser had a lower 77 per cent score in the other key area of assessment – safety assist.

Despite the relatively minor blemish, Ms Hoorweg said the safety specifications in the LandCruiser 300 Series were “a welcome update to its predecessor”.

The previous 200 Series also scored five stars, based on testing conducted in 2011.

“The protection the Toyota LandCruiser offers to vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, is impressive for a large SUV,” she said.

“The five-star ANCAP safety rating awarded to the Toyota LandCruiser will be good news for fleet buyers, rural users and families across Australia and New Zealand.”

It’s worth noting that while the five-star rating is applicable to most members of the 300 Series line-up, it doesn’t apply to the harder-core GR Sport on account of its more off-road-oriented specifications including a front locking differential and associated hardware.

“ANCAP testing is undertaken on the base-model variant and manufacturers can apply for the rating to be extended to other variants by supplying the necessary technical information to ANCAP for consideration,” Ms Hoorweg told carsales.

“The Toyota LandCruiser rating can be applied to the GX, GXL, VX, Sahara, Sahara ZX and VX Limited variants, however the GR Sport is currently unrated.”