Shock four-star ANCAP rating for BMW pair…

THREE new electric vehicles have secured maximum five-star safety ratings from ANCAP Safety, while the latest BMW 1 Series and 2 Series Gran Coupe have been awarded four-star ratings under increasingly stringent crash-testing protocols.

The latest round of assessments highlights the growing maturity of electric vehicle safety, with the battery-electric Toyota HiLux BEV, Subaru Trailseeker, and Subaru Uncharted all achieving the maximum five-star result.

ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg said the results provide consumers with more safe electrified choices across multiple segments.

The battery-electric Toyota HiLux successfully extended the five-star rating already achieved by diesel-powered HiLux variants in December 2025.

To validate the electric ute’s performance, ANCAP conducted additional frontal offset (MPDB) and oblique pole crash tests specifically designed to assess battery integrity and high-voltage system safety following severe impacts.

The testing confirmed the HiLux BEV delivers safety performance comparable with its diesel counterpart.

As a result, all Toyota HiLux variants (excluding the Rugged X) now hold a five-star ANCAP rating.

“In an increasing market of alternative-powered utes, business and private buyers now have another option that balances their safety needs with their powertrain considerations,” said Ms Hoorweg.

Subaru’s new Trailseeker and Uncharted electric SUVs also secured five-star ratings.

The ratings are largely based on the closely related Toyota bZ4X platform, supplemented by additional crash testing and engineering assessments to verify equivalent safety performance.

“The addition of the Trailseeker and Uncharted to Subaru’s growing electric portfolio sees yet more safe choices for consumers,” added Ms Hoorweg.

In contrast, the latest BMW 1 Series and 2 Series Gran Coupe both received four-star ratings.

While both vehicles performed strongly in crash avoidance and active safety testing, shortcomings in occupant protection ultimately prevented them from reaching the five-star benchmark.

The key issue centred on frontal crash performance.

ANCAP testing found an elevated chest injury risk for the driver in the frontal offset (MPDB) test, elevated chest injury risk for both driver and rear passenger in the full-width frontal crash test and potential upper-leg injury risks from dashboard structures.

The Adult Occupant Protection score of 78 per cent fell just short of the 80 per cent threshold required for a five-star rating.

A deeper analysis of the results highlights how much tougher ANCAP and Euro NCAP testing protocols have become.

For the BMW 1 Series, testing identified weak protection for the driver's chest in frontal crashes, marginal protection for occupants’ legs and femur areas the model incurring an increased penalty under newer testing criteria.

While previous generations of the 1 Series achieved five-star ratings, the latest assessment standards place greater emphasis on injury measurements and real-world crash outcomes.

Moving to the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe which suffered from additional shortcomings we find among the issues identified were an absence of a front-centre airbag, reduced side-impact occupant protection scores, inconsistent cyclist detection performance, and lower scores for active safety technologies.

Despite those limitations, both BMW models still recorded strong results in several other categories demonstrating that the four-star result reflects missed opportunities in specific testing areas rather than fundamental structural weaknesses.

The latest ANCAP results reinforce an emerging trend within the industry.

Vehicles that may once have comfortably achieved five-star ratings are increasingly being held back by stricter protocols that place greater emphasis on vulnerable road user protection, cyclist detection performance, active safety intervention systems, occupant injury measurements, and side-impact occupant interaction.

The results provide consumers with a reminder that a four-star rating today often represents a significantly safer vehicle than a four-star vehicle from a decade ago.

At the same time, the strong performance of the HiLux BEV, Trailseeker and Uncharted demonstrates that battery-electric vehicles are continuing to match – and in many cases exceed – the safety standards established by their combustion-powered counterparts.