Ute safety inches closer to modern standards

The safety of utility vehicles is slowly being dragged into the modern era -- but there is still a long way to go before they are as safe as passenger cars.

Australian Government crash safety standards for utility vehicles are not as high as those set for passenger vehicles -- even though utes now account for one in seven of all new vehicles sold, often double as family transport, and are more prone to roll-overs because of their high centre of gravity and uneven weight distribution.

In October last year, the Mitsubishi Triton became the first ute of its type to be available locally with stability control and curtain airbags.

And, it was announced this week, by June this year the Nissan Navara (pictured) will also gain the same potentially life-saving features.

But there is a catch. In the case of the Navara, the technology is only available on the most expensive ST-X diesel-powered model, priced in excess of $50,000 -- and it is not even an option on the cheaper versions.

In the case of the Triton, stability control and curtain airbags are standard on only one of nine models -- also the most expensive variant, the GLX-R, which costs $48,000 -- but is at least optional on four other models.

On both the Navara and the Triton, stability control (which can prevent a skid and is regarded as the biggest safety invention since the seatbelt) is only available on diesel-powered variants. Although diesel engines account for the majority of ute sales, petrol utes are still sold in significant numbers.

Mitsubishi and Nissan say they need time to develop the technology for other variants in their ute line-ups.

Part of the reason the extra safety equipment does not stretch beyond the top-line Navara is because the top-line ST-X model is made in Spain, where the technology has been adopted for European markets, while the cheaper Navara models sold in Australia come from another Nissan factory in Thailand, which is yet to adopt the extra safety equipment (and the revised diesel engine).

Despite the gaps in their line-ups, Mitsubishi and Nissan have done more than market leader Toyota, whose HiLux is not yet available with stability control, even though it is fitted to HiLuxes sold in Europe.

The HiLux has been the top-selling vehicle in Australia on four individual months over the past two years, and was the third biggest selling vehicle in 2009 behind the Holden Commodore and Toyota Corolla.

In October 2009 Toyota introduced side and curtain airbags as standard on the top-line $50,000-plus SR5 dual cab model, but the extra airbags are not available on any other HiLux variant, even as an option.

"The HiLuxes sold in Europe are built in a different factory to the HiLuxes sold in Australia and the stability control system has been designed for the European market," said Toyota spokesman Mike Breen. "Stability control settings for Australia are unique. We are working on a stability control system for the HiLux in Australia but there is no word on when it will be introduced."

Four out of 17 models in the Ford Ranger line-up have front-seat side-impact airbags as standard (the XLT top-line Wildtrak models) and they are optional on 8 others.

Stability control, however, has not yet been developed for the Ford Ranger and is unlikely to become available until an all-new model arrives in 2012.

Since September 2009 the Ford Ranger's twin under the skin, the Mazda BT-50, which is made on the same production line in Thailand, has had front seat-mounted side airbags as standard on two out of 11 variants -- but unlike the Ford, they're not an option on other models.

Stability control is also not available on any Mazda ute and, as with the Ford, won't likely become available until the new model surfaces in 2012. As for the current Ranger replacement, that vehicle is currently under development by Ford Australia engineers as the T6 project.

The Holden Colorado does not have side airbags or stability control available on any model. It too is due for replacement in 2012.

The upcoming Volkswagen Amarok, the German car maker's first ever ute and due on sale in Australia in October, will likely become the first body-on-frame ute to score a five-star safety rating from ANCAP or its European affiliate EuroNCAP. Curtain airbags and stability control are available on foreign versions of the Amarok but Volkswagen Australia is yet to confirm local equipment levels.

Either way, the threat posed by Amarok is certain to provide even further incentive for the makers of Asian-branded utes to improve the safety kit on their vehicles.

The safety of commercial vehicles has typically lagged behind the safety of passenger vehicles because government crash testing regulations are not as tough for utes. And body-on-frame utes such as these were initially developed as low-cost vehicles for developing countries.

Australians, however, have embraced utes in a big way and we are the fifth biggest market for utes in the world behind North America, South America, South Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

The only ute to score a five-star safety rating by the independent crash test body ANCAP is the car-derived Holden Commodore ute, which now comes with stability control and curtain airbags as standard.

Side airbags and stability control are optional on most Ford Falcon utes.

The Falcon ute equipped with side airbags would likely score a five star rating if it were tested by ANCAP, given that it shares its core structure with the five-star Falcon sedan.

The only other commercial vehicle to earn a five-star safety rating is the Mercedes-Benz Vito van, when equipped with optional side airbags.

The Volkswagen Transporter range has a four-star safety rating but every model is now equipped with stability control as standard -- and side airbags are an option on most models.

While Australian crash test regulations have not been overhauled by the Federal Government in more than a decade, our Occupational Health and Safety guidelines are helping expedite the introduction of new technology into commercial vans and utes.

"OH&S is becoming a bigger issue every day for fleet buyers and so you need to have as many safety features as possible," the former boss of Mitsubishi Australia, Robert McEniry, said at the launch of the upgraded Triton range last year. "We are the first in the market among our direct competitors to have this technology and we pushed very hard to bring it forward. You will start to see this technology trickle down to more affordable [ute] models as time goes on."

While the extra airbags and stability control makes body-on-frame utes safer, ANCAP is unlikely to retest the current crop because their scores are such that any improvement is unlikely to be enough for them to earn a higher star rating.

Once the crash safety of utes is improved there is one other area they are lagging behind world's best practice: drive-away safety. None of the top-selling body-on-frame utes are yet available with rear parking sensors or a rear camera as standard.

According to ANCAP, here's how the latest utes compare:
Holden Commodore ute: Five stars.
Ford Falcon ute: Four stars.
Toyota HiLux: Four stars.
Mitsubishi Triton: Four stars.
Nissan Navara: Three stars.
Holden Colorado: Three stars.
Isuzu D-Max: Three stars.
Mazda BT-50: Three stars.
Ford Ranger: Three stars.
Mahindra Pik-Up: Two stars.
Great Wall Motors utes: Two stars.
Proton Jumbuck: One star.

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