No five-star ANCAP ratings for SsangYong -- yet

When SsangYong returns to Australia in November after a two-year lull, it won’t offer any five-star ANCAP safety-rated models.

And it will be without them for at least another 12 months.

SsangYong -- Korea’s third stand-alone brand after Hyundai and Kia -- is throwing a lot of resource at relaunching the brand in Australia with four models.

Two of them will come with four-star Euro NCAP ratings -- the Tivoli small SUV and Tivoli XLV medium SUV. The other two, which are newer, better-equipped, turbo-diesel vehicles – the Rexton large SUV and Musso pick-up – will remain untested until at least 2019.

And there’s no guarantee they’ll get five-star ratings then either.

However, a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating is highly regarded by the Australian industry and public alike, so SsangYong is taking measures to improve its safety ratings.

The new SsangYong Rexton large SUV (a Toyota Fortuna or Ford Everest rival) and Musso dual-cab ute (a Mitsubishi Triton fighter) are expected to be tested by either Euro NCAP or ANCAP in the first half of 2019.

Andrew Ellis, communications and product planning manager for SsangYong Motors Australia, said the company, which is the first factory-backed distributor outside Korea, “...will engage with safety experts before it delivers the Rexton and Musso to either Australian NCAP or Euro NCAP.”

He noted: “The protocols are now the same so it [crash testing] might happen in Europe or it might happen in Australia. It will be a 2019 test and Rexton will be tested first.”

The Rexton and Musso share the same rugged ladder-frame platform and safety features, and although Ellis wouldn’t say whether the company expects its two newest models to be awarded five-star ANCAP safety ratings, he said the vehicles have “all the features” required for a top safety score.

All SsangYong models will be fitted as standard with AEB or autonomous emergency braking, which all but a prerequisite for five-star ANCAP rating from 2018, from the brand’s November relaunch – except the Musso.

Ellis said AEB will be fitted from early 2019 in the Musso pick-up -- most likely when the long-wheelbase version joins the SsangYong range.

The SsangYong Tivoli small SUV and its stretched Tivoli XLV sibling also have all the safety features required for a top safety rating, including seven airbags, stability control and AEB. But that didn’t stop Euro NCAP from giving the Tivoli four stars.

According to the crash report from Europe, “…proper retention of the rear [seat crash-test] dummy failed, allowing excessive forward movement and protection of the head was rated as poor.

“As a result, the Tivoli lost all points for that dummy.”

If it wasn’t for the rear-seat inconsistency, the Tivoli may have rated higher.

“SsangYong are investigating the cause of the failure,” said Euro NCAP.

It should be noted that many vehicles sold today with a five-star ANCAP safety rating would not get the top safety mark if tested against the 2018 scoring regime.

For instance, one of Australia’s top-selling cars, the Toyota, has a five-star ANCAP safety rating. It was tested in 2014 and if that car was retested with current guidelines it wouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed to attain its top score.

Independent safety authority ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) works in parallel with European NCAP to rate cars based on their safety features, such as AEB, as well as their crashworthiness.

Despite the four-star rating, SsangYong Motors Australia says the Tivoli SUV will not be retested for at least another year.

“The Tivoli is Euro NCAP four-star and that won’t change until there’s a facelift,” said Tim Smith, SsangYong Motor Australia’s managing director, who added that the new Tivoli will arrive in the third quarter of 2019.

If the SsangYong Musso and Rexton don’t get five-star ANCAP ratings, it could be 12 months before the returning Korean brand can crow about the safety of its cars.

Smith stated that its all-new flagship model, a medium-sized SUV codenamed C300 that will do battle with the Mazda CX-5 and its ilk, is almost certain to be a five-star ANCAP vehicle and will be fitted with a range of semi-autonomous driver aids.

“How that translates to what scoring it’ll get for ANCAP is why we’re really excited about it. On that car absolutely we’ll work with ANCAP,” he said.

As Asia’s self-styled ‘SUV specialist’ brand (it considers the Musso dual-cab ute to be an ‘open SUV’), SsangYong is well aware of how important ANCAP ratings are in Australia.

“We understand safety is one of the key success factors in Australia so we try to offer as many safety features as possible,” said SsangYong’s executive director of export markets, Daniel Rim.

He said that while the Tivoli only has a four-star rating “…our future product like the C300 [medium SUV] and the D300 [large SUV] will have five-star ratings.”

The C300 SUV, a Toyota RAV4 rival, isn’t expected to arrive in Australia until at least August 2019, along with the facelifted Tivoli.

Rim noted that the new SsangYong Rexton has a five-star safety rating in Korea via KNCAP after the vehicle was crashed by the Korean transport ministry, but he wants to attain five stars with the world’s strictest protocols, which are European and Australian NCAP.

“For the future products, starting with the C300, we will have five-star rating European. This will carry to Australia.”

How importantly do safety ratings weigh on your new car-vehicle list? Have your say in the comments section below.