Carsales Staff•18 Jan 2013
NEWS
Opel, Subaru, Volvo score five-star ANCAP ratings
But it's the Swedish brand's V40 hatchback hailed as 'stand-out performer' by crash safety authorityThe Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has announced five-star ratings for three newcomers to the local market.
Opel's Corsa has been on sale in Australia for a few months, but had not been formally rated by the local crash safety testing body earlier. In contrast, the new Subaru Forester (pictured) was only launched in the final month of 2012 and the Volvo V40 is yet to be released here.
But it is the Volvo, in fact, that achieved the strongest result of the three cars tested. And that comes as no surprise, given the V40's performance in Euro NCAP testing. ANCAP frequently relies on data from Euro NCAP testing to formulate its own measure of a car's safety.
"The stand-out performer in today's ratings release is the Volvo V40," said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Mr Nicholas Clarke, as quoted in a press release. "The V40 is equipped with a lengthy list of SAT [safety assist technologies], including a world-first bonnet airbag system. Sensors detect when a pedestrian has been struck, lifts the bonnet and fires the airbag to provide greater head protection. The airbag covers the windscreen pillars and lower portion of the windscreen. It operates over a range of speeds and can detect different pedestrian statures."
"We're delighted with what ANCAP had to say about the All-New V40," said Matt Braid, Managing Director of Volvo Australia. "Achieving the maximum safety rating possible is paramount, but the praise of our world-first Pedestrian Airbag technology gives weight to our 'safety beyond stars' philosophy and is yet another important step toward our 2020 target that nobody should die or be seriously injured in a new Volvo car."
The V40 is due to go on sale in Australia at the end of next month.
For 2013 ANCAP has reviewed its testing parameters and implemented a revised scoring system, potentially creating a disparity between five-star safe cars tested in 2012 and earlier, versus those tested this year and in successive years. It's a first for ANCAP, but has come about following consultation with partnering bodies around the world.
"The ANCAP Rating Road Map sets out minimum safety requirements for each star rating - 1 star through to 5 stars. Through this, year on year, ANCAP is setting the bar higher for vehicles to reach each of the star ratings," said Mr Clarke. "Vehicles rated by ANCAP in 2013 must meet stricter requirements in order to reach the 5 star safety standard."
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Written byCarsales Staff
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