The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP has released safety ratings for the Holden Commodore ute, the Mazda BT50 4x4, the Nissan Navara D40 4x4 and the Mahindra Pik-up.
The Commodore achieved a 4-star result and also provided a range of safety features – including anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake distribution (EBD) and electronic stability control (ESC) – as standard.
The Mazda BT50 gained a 3-star rating, the Nissan Navara was awarded a 3-star rating under ANCAP’s sister program EuroNCAP, and the Mahindra Pik-up rated two stars out of five.
ANCAP Chair Lauchlan McIntosh, said the performance of the Commodore ute was a sign that manufacturers could design and build for occupant protection. “We are seeing more and more four and five star vehicles on the Australian market these days, and we would expect that a utility vehicle should earn a 5-star rating in the near future,” Mr McIntosh said.
“Manufacturers are building key safety technologies as standard features in many of their models – and while some utes are definitely safer than they were 5 years ago, more needs to be done.”
The Mazda BT50 and the Ford Ranger are based on the same design and are expected to have similar crashworthiness. The frontal offset crash by ANCAP left the passenger compartment severely deformed, with the steering column, dashboard components and park brake lever presenting as potential sources of injury. It only gained a 3-star rating following the tests.
After a poor result from Euro NCAP, Nissan upgraded the airbag performance of the Navara ute and a retest was conducted.
Nissan Australia advises that the latest 3-star rating from Europe applies to airbag-equipped models on sale in Australia, and that a service campaign is underway to upgrade the airbag software of models already in service. Also of concern, Australian models of the Navara are available without a driver airbag and could be expected to perform worse than the model tested in Europe, where airbags are standard.
The Mahindra Pik-Up, which only rated two stars, has minimal safety features and, despite the dual cab configuration that is popular with families, does not include top tether anchorages for child restraints. Under Australian regulations these are optional on this style of vehicle, which can be classified as commercial.
Other crash test ratings for vehicles tested by EuroNCAP which are sold in Australia are the Fiat 500 fitted with ESC, the Volvo V70 and Peugeot 308 with ESC and knee airbag, which scored 5 stars, and the Fiat 500 without ESC, the Peugeot 308 without ESC or knee airbag and the BMW X3, which scored 4 stars.
Pedestrian test ratings were three out of four stars for the Peugeot 308, two stars for the Volvo V70 and Fiat 500, and one star for the Commodore Ute, Mahindra Pik-Up and BMW X3.
ANCAP crash tests new vehicles, awards them a star rating for safety and publicises the results to the motoring public.
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