Car safety

The Australasian Unusual Car Evaluate Program, better identified as ANCAP, has as of late published its fresh ratings for the usual Suzuki Swift and MG3 compact hatchbacks.

Both fashions are underneath the microscope, as old testing proved much less than advisable for the pair. In 2024, testing of the MG3 resulted in a three-necessary person score, while the Suzuki Swift obtained fair one necessary person.

Controversy quickly followed the Swift’s score, as European testing of the connected model resulted in three stars.

ANCAP administered self sustaining testing of the Suzuki Swift final year after being commended of “physical differences between in the neighborhood-supplied Swift fashions and these supplied in Europe”. The self sustaining outcomes were damning.

Rapidly after issuing a one-necessary person consequence for the 2024 Swift, ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said “The originate of one of the necessary structural facets and restraints in in the neighborhood-sold Swift autos appear to lack robustness [when compared to the European model]”.

Now, a second round of testing unearths that the Australian model Suzuki Swift is constructed to the connected connected old as its European counterpart.

The MG3 little car isn’t free from controversy either. Revised in Could presumably perchance well moreover fair 2025 to encompass a centre airbag, driver monitoring, and improved collision avoidance to all fashions, the MG3 has obtained a four-necessary person safety score alongside a declare of caution to traders.

Trusty thru a simulated 50km/hr head-on wreck test, the correct-aspect driver seat adjuster failed, causing the seat to curl on affect. Recordsdata from the motive force dummy published vulgar force to the narrate leg, as properly as the dummy ‘bottoming out’ the guidance wheel airbag.

Resultantly, the safety score of the motive force’s leg changed into once rated as ‘unhappy’, and safety of the pinnacle rated as ‘ample’.

Total, the fresh ANCAP test consequence for the MG3 desires to be considered as certain. Recent testing has published:

• Grownup occupant safety is now 74 percent (changed into once 72 percent)
• Small one occupant safety now 75 percent (changed into once 74 percent)
• Inclined road user safety 81 percent (changed into once 76 percent)
• Security aid score now 70 percent (changed into once 58 percent)

Results for the Suzuki Swift, while now not but five stars, are restful an enchancment over the outgoing one necessary person score. Recent testing has published:

• Grownup occupant safety rose from 47 to 67 percent
• Small one occupant safety rose from 59 to 65 percent
• Inclined road user safety unchanged at 76 percent
• Security aid rose from 54 to 55 percent

The fresh ANCAP outcomes observe to all MG3 fashions constructed from 30 April 2025 (VIN LSJWP4U92SZ204415 onwards), and all Suzuki Swift fashions constructed from August 2025 and on sale from September 2025 (VIN …250001 onwards).

Both rankings will almost definitely be legit for six years, unless re-tested.

What about the opponents?

The compact car segment (most frequently known as ‘mild’ or ‘city’) is reasonably area of interest in Australia, comprising finest 2.2 percent of the total car market.

Striking apart the aforementioned MG3 and Suzuki Swift, Aussies decide for longstanding namesakes by methodology of sunshine autos, with the Toyota Yaris, Mazda 2, Hyundai i20 N and Skoda Fabia ruling the roost.

So how originate these autos compare for safety? Skoda’s Fabia with ease holds a five necessary person score, which is able to expire in 2028. It carried out an adult occupant score of 85 percent, youngster occupant score of 81 percent, and pedestrian safety score of 70 percent when it changed into once tested in June 2022.

Meanwhile, the Toyota Yaris is currently rated five stars, nonetheless will change into unrated in much less than a year (August 2026). When tested in 2020, the Toyota Yaris scored an adult occupant score of 86 percent, youngster occupant score of 87 percent, and pedestrian safety score of 78 percent.

Most dazzling is the Mazda 2, Australia’s second most traditional mild car. It has no unswerving ANCAP score as of January 2023, nonetheless changed into once previously rated at five stars. The Mazda 2 held its five-necessary person score from 2015-2022, nonetheless has now not been tested since its June 2023 facelift.

The Hyundai i20N is moreover unrated, and if truth be told, the present generation has never been tested in Australia. In a 2021 European test, the i20 carried out a Euro NCAP score of four-stars.

The Kia Tasman is tantalisingly shut to originate, and has true been awarded 5 stars in ANCAP safety testing, date-stamped 2025.

The contemporary utes chunky complement of stars fits key rivals within the section, at the side of the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton.

The Tasman’s 5-star rating applies only to 4×4 twin cab variants for the time being, with coming 4×2 and single cab devices excluded, for now.

Also value noting that greater stage Tasman X-Line and X-Official are moreover regarded as unrated by ANCAP.

It’s because S, SX, and SX+ grade Tasmans feature a assorted lower valance which will see worship an aerodynamic succor, nonetheless is as a substitute for pedestrian safety compatibility.

To strengthen off-avenue skill and procedure attitude, the X-Line and X-Official streak with out this neat piece. It’s miles in a enviornment to be removed on lower grades to install a bullbar, too.

On the total, the Tasman’s performance used to be spectacular, and comparatively consistent, across the board with exact scores for occupant protection and safety support.

There had been some disorders famed, at the side of within the chunky-width frontal affect the assign aside the driver dummy’s pelvis slipped beneath the lap share of the seatbelt, incurring a penalty.

The Tasman performed wisely within the frontal offset take a look at, the assign aside the auto collides with a dolly. Each are travelling at 50km/h, with the dolly to simulate the take a look at automobile running into an oncoming automobile.

This used to be a differentiator towards other popular, lately 5-star rated utes the assign aside the Tasman used to be only awarded 2.46 points.

This is better than the BYD Shark 6, Mitsubishi Triton, GWM Cannon Alpha, JAC T9, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max, all of which can per chance well be most in vogue 5-star rated vehicles.

Kia Tasman 2025 pricing

Volvo has launched what it’s claiming is a world first in seatbelt safety which might perchance debut in the upcoming EX60 electric mid-dimension SUV. Volvo refers back to the innovation as a “milestone for automobile safety” which aspires to “abet put tens of millions of lives”.

The Swedish carmaker has lengthy been synonymous with safety. Volvo was once the first firm to suit contemporary three-level seat belts as customary equipment in 1959, with Volvo Engineer Nils Bohlin credited with its create — the guidelines of that are peaceful in employ as of late.

Contemporary archaic seat belts employ three load-limiting profiles, which uniquely resolve the pressure exerted onto an occupant at some stage in a break. Right here is done by releasing seatbelt stress in a managed manner when a collection pressure threshold is exceeded.

Volvo claims it has increased the collection of load-limiting profiles for its new seatbelt from three to eleven, by employ of trusty-time details collection and processing. Rather than purely mechanical load limits, the new create adapts utilizing digital details unruffled from sensors inner and open air of the automobile.

Automobile direction and tempo, along with passenger posture, abet the occupant restraint procedure secure the most acceptable setting.

Volvo claims its procedure adapts to the person, accounting for variables equivalent to top, weight, body form and seating pronounce. This details will expectantly decrease the grief of head wound and rib fractures in a break.

Nevertheless the rabbit-hole of details processing in this new restraint procedure goes deeper than fair correct trusty-time details. Volvo says all vehicles fit with the procedure might perchance perchance even receive over-the-air procedure updates to extra strengthen safety.

This means any details unruffled from automobile park bumps and main crashes to driver traits including top, weight and posture, will be processed, analysed and distributed to abet your future restraint procedure be taught autonomously.

Sure, in the slay, your seatbelt genuinely is getting homework.

Extra details regarding the Volvo EX60

Miniature details is available surrounding the EX60, except for for what extra or less seat belts this might perchance perchance perhaps employ. What’s identified is that the EX60 is a unswerving electric, mid-dimension SUV which might perchance replace (or augment) Volvo’s outgoing XC60 — its world simplest vendor.

The EX60 is confirmed for Australia, even supposing trusty open timing has no longer but been revealed. It slots neatly into Volvo’s all-electric lineup between the EX40 and EX90, and ought to peaceful be the first Volvo automobile constructed on a new modular SPA3 platform.

Volvo in the beginning claimed it can perchance perhaps perchance offer an all electric line-up by 2030, nonetheless now plans for 90-100% of its vehicles to be either devoted electric vehicles or poke-in hybrids, with the final being elegant hybrids.

Vehicle safety authority ANCAP has this present day launched results for the fresh 250-Sequence Toyota LandCruiser Prado, awarding the rugged SUV an overall score of 5 stars.

The fresh-generation Toyota four-wheel power scored well across the board, with an 85 percent grownup occupant safety accumulate, 89 percent for little one occupant safety, and 82 percent for safety-wait on systems. Prado’s accumulate for susceptible boulevard person safety used to be 84 percent.

Evaluating these results to its closest competitor, primarily the most up-to-date Ford Everest scored 86 percent for grownup occupant safety, a formidable 93 percent for little one occupant safety, 86 percent for safety-wait on systems, and 74 percent for susceptible boulevard person safety.

The fresh Prado arrangement 9 airbags as normal (up from seven airbags within the old 150-Sequence generation), as well as the next normal safety tools:

• Pre-collision safety machine
• Adaptive cruise adjust
• Proactive utilizing wait on
• Driver monitoring
• Lane-label wait on
• Emergency utilizing pause machine
• Road signal wait on
• Safe exit wait on
• Blind-plight monitoring
• Rear contemptible-web page visitors alert
• Trailer sway adjust
• Entrance and rear parking sensors

Toyota LandCruiser Prado 2025: prices in Australia

All prices listed are earlier than on-boulevard costs.

• GX: $72,500
• GXL: $seventy 9,990
• VX: $87,400
• Altitude: $92,700
• Kakadu: $Ninety 9,990

The Australasian Original Automobile Evaluation Program (ANCAP) has awarded a 0-superstar security score to the Mahindra Scorpio 4 wheel pressure wagon and MG5 sedan in a most modern blitz.

In a press starting up, ANCAP acknowledged the outcomes, which noticed unhappy performance in every bodily security and provocative security skills, had been on account of the “valuable omission of security functions that had been favorite in new autos for a lot of years”.

ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg acknowledged the outcomes had been “a stark reminder that no longer all autos offer the identical stage of security – even after they’re recent gadgets.”

“The MG5 and Mahindra Scorpio had been every launched into the Australian and Original Zealand new automobile markets for the necessary time this one year, yet it’s sure that their security offerings are some generations within the relieve of what we scrutinize with nearly every new automobile on sale at the moment time.” she acknowledged.

Its vital that ANCAP has educated Chasing Vehicles it performed the testing direction of entirely independently from Mahindra and MG, with the safety authority procuring the autos themselves.

Every importers bear pledged to make upgrades to their autos within the stop, even though the actual timing and upgrades suited to Australian gadgets remain to be considered.

It’s the necessary zero-superstar security score awarded to a new automobile offered in Australia since ANCAP tested the Mitsubishi Specific relieve in 2021.

MG5 lacking key equipment, says ANCAP

As allotment of the final zero superstar score, the MG5 used to be awarded the next results

• 37% Adult Occupant Protection
• 58% Child Occupant Protection
• 42% Vulnerable Avenue Person Protection
• 13% Safety Abet

In testing the MG5 vary, the cheap sedan used to be penalised for its shatter performance in front-on and frontal-offset collision check, with particular condemnation utilized to the safety offered to the head and neck of the newborn dummies in front and facet impacts, with three out of four assessed with a ‘passe’ result.

ANCAP used to be moreover necessary of the scarcity of security equipment equivalent to seatbelt pretensioners and cargo limiters within the sinful Vibe grade, while the model as a total lacks in style tech equivalent to blind-predicament monitoring and a centre airbag. And while it does bear AEB, ANCAP acknowledged the performance of the map used to be limited.

Mahindra Scorpio scores ‘zero percent’ in some areas

On the time of testing, the Scorpio earned the next results:

• 44% Adult Occupant Protection
• 80% Child Occupant Protection
• 23% Vulnerable Avenue Person Protection
• 0% Safety Abet

The latter result, awarded to security relieve, used to be on account of the very fact that the Scorpio had no provocative security equipment fitted, even though the mark has previously acknowledged some skills equivalent to AEB used to be planned for introduction at a later date.

Equivalent to the MG, the Mahindra used to be criticised for its shatter performance even though kids fared higher, with the newborn occupant security score scored at 80 percent.

Concerningly, ANCAP noticed that the driving force’s seat belt came unlatched “at some stage in deployment of the seat belt pre-tensioner right this moment prior to impress”.

While the testing physique acknowledged this has no impact on the salvage, it had reached out to the producer for further examination.

ANCAP moreover criticised the absence of equipment equivalent to a front-centre airbag, the complete lack of provocative security skills and the very fact that the curtain airbags supreme extended to the necessary two rows of the three-row, six-seat automobile.

Mahindra, MG pledge to provide a steal to automobile security

Chasing Vehicles sought comment from every Mahindra and MG on the outcomes, and had been offered with an official assertion from every.

In the end of the responses, every identified that their respective autos met Australian Manufacture Ideas at the time of sale, with a spokesperson from MG noting that the MG5 used to be an ‘cheap’ possibility available within the market.

The Mahindra is moreover thought to be to be most regularly more cheap than its opponents.

A spokesperson from MG acknowledged it used to be “continuously striving to assemble the supreme thing by our customers in phrases of affordability, carry out and feature. Where and when imaginable, we can add improvements to our products for our gadgets at some stage in their lifestyles cycle.”

“In 2024, the MG5 will receive a security pack give a steal to that can presumably well well also just make larger the final security of this model inline with ANCAP’s score map.”

“These planned enhancements for the MG5 will reiterate our dedication to customers and make certain further passenger security with a technique more developed ADAS methods alongside side Independent Emergency Braking, Tempo Abet methods, Lane Abet methods and Pedestrian Protection security methods as considered in a pair of of our varied gadgets.”

Mahindra made a identical pledge but successfully-known that the Scorpio silent technically holds a World NCAP of five stars and functions a mess of security functions equivalent to its six airbags.

World NCAP has no formal affiliation with either ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

“The Australasian Original Automobile Evaluation Program (ANCAP), updated on January 1, 2023 has particular requirements that encompass sure further functions,” a spokesperson from the mark acknowledged.

“We at Mahindra are committed to our promise of security and are training meeting queer security guidelines and these requirements for Australia as allotment of our product mid-cycle update.

“We continuously strive in direction of security innovations, making sure every Mahindra buyer can pressure our SUVs with the utmost self assurance and peace of thoughts.”

ANCAP performed testing independent of manufacturers

Update 2:30pm: ANCAP CEO, Ms Hoorweg, has now confirmed to Chasing Vehicles that it performed the strategy entirely independently from Mahindra and MG/

“All MG5 and Mahindra Scorpio check autos had been bought independently by ANCAP as there used to be no desire from the respective manufacturers to position these gadgets forward for testing,” CEO Ms acknowledged.

“It is a routine allotment of ANCAP’s come to buy, check and charge automobile gadgets the place testing is not any longer supported by the producer and doubtless security concerns or deficiencies are suspected.”

While it praised the statements of map from MG and Mahindra to provide a steal to their gadgets it acknowledged that, love any varied model, further assessments will be performed on varied unrated gadgets in their respective ranges.

“We struggle via a rigorous direction of to settle which gadgets are prioritised for testing, and criteria thought to be encompass whether or no longer the model is a protracted-established excessive-quantity vendor, swiftly-focussed, from an emerging mark, presents one more-powertrain, or the mark has unhappy, unknown or questionable security pedigree etc,” she acknowledged.