Five ANCAP stars for 86, A-Class and Range Rover

CRASH-TEST authority ANCAP is celebrating the latest round of five-star safety results, achieved across three different segments with the Range Rover large SUV, Mercedes-Benz A-Class small hatch and Toyota 86 sportscar.

ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh said it no longer matters what type of car consumers buy when it comes to choosing for safety.

“There's now a multitude of makes, models and car types which have achieved the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating,” he said. “The range of cars we've released ratings for today exemplifies this.” The highest overall scorer was also the largest, heaviest and most expensive, the Range Rover TDV6 with an 36.19 points out of 37 – but all other variants remain unrated at this time.

It scored 15.19 out of 16 in the frontal offset test, with “good” protection for the head, neck, upper legs and lower legs of both front occupants, while the driver’s chest protection was rated “acceptable” (passenger chest protection was rated “good”).

The Rangie’s passenger compartment held its shape during the test, with “well controlled” pedal and steering wheel movement.

All doors remained closed during the test and could be opened afterwards with normal effort.

Being a high-riding SUV, the Range Rover scored full marks in the side impact test and also got the maximum two points in the pole test, while whiplash protection was rated “good”.

For pedestrian protection the Rangie was rated “acceptable” with a score of 22.62 out of 36.

Adult head, child head and lower leg impact protection scored highly but the bonnet’s leading edge posed a hazard, scoring zero points for upper leg impacts.

Compared with its larger, taller B-Class sibling, which scored an almost perfect 36.78 out of 37, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class scored a relatively low 35.8 points – lower than the Volvo V40 (36.67 points).

Lower leg protection for both front occupants let the side down in the frontal offset test, with 2.8 points out of a possible four for an “acceptable” rating, leading to a total score of 14.8 out of 16 as protection for the head, neck, chest and upper legs each scored a maximum four points.

During the test the passenger compartment of the baby Benz maintained its shape, with “well controlled” pedal and steering wheel movement.

All doors remained closed during the test and could be opened afterwards with normal effort.

The A-Class flew through the side impact and pole tests with flying colours, achieving a maximum score on both counts while being rated “good” for whiplash protection.

Like the Range Rover, the A-Class flunked the upper leg impact section of the pedestrian protection test with zero points.

Its standard active bonnet, which automatically raises to provide a gap between the metalwork and hard components beneath when a pedestrian impact is detected, is likely to have helped pick up 12 points for child head protection.

However middling scores for adult head and lower leg impacts led to a total score of 24 out of 36, slightly up on the Rangie but still only enough for an “acceptable” rating.

The A-Class picked up a plaudit for its standard collision prevention assistance technology, which gives the driver with visual and audible warnings of an imminent collision.

Both Range Rover and A-Class ratings were based on Euro NCAP data, but for the Toyota 86, ANCAP recycled the results from its Subaru BRZ test published in July last year.