Mazda3 smashes ANCAP tests
One of Australia’s most popular passenger cars, the Mazda3, has knocked the Australasian New Car Assessment – ANCAP – tests out of the park with a smallcar record rating of 98 percent for adult occupant protection.
The latest edition of the small hatchback and sedan that started to roll out in Australia last month also scored well in child and pedestrian protection, proving that bigger and more expensive is not always better when it comes to road safety.
The Mazda3 now joins two luxury vehicles – the Volvo XC60 and Alfa Romeo Giulia – with results of 98 percent for adult protection.
The Mazda3 was one of five new vehicles given five-star ratings by ANCAP last week, joining the latest iterations of the Toyota RAV4, Range Rover Evoque, Volkswagen Touareg and Lexus UX in getting a big tick from the independent rating organisation.
ANCAP chief executive James Goodwin said it was encouraging to see safety continuing to be prioritised across the market.
“The physical protection offered by the popular-selling Mazda 3 was excellent, scoring a record high 98 percent for adult occupant protection,” he said.
The only minor blemish on the Mazda3’s frontal impact tests was an ‘adequate’ rating for lower leg protection in the offset crash, dropping the score in that test to 7.71 points out of eight.
Whiplash protection earned a minor deduction, with a score of 1.83 out of two.
Otherwise, it was a clean sheet in adult protection, with full frontal, side impact, oblique pole and autonomous emergency brake tests all scoring maximum points in the tests that, like those done on other cars revealed by ANCAP, were performed by European NCAP.
The Mazda3 also scored well in child protection, 89 percent; vulnerable road user protection – pedestrian and cyclist, 81 percent; and safety assist technologies, 76 percent. In other tests revealed by ANCAP last week, the Toyota RAV4 scored five stars, despite having a glitch when one of the side curtain airbags failed to deploy properly, thus incurring a points penalty for adult occupant protection.
In fact, it lost part of a point on all crash tests for a final adult protection score of 93 percent, which still puts it comfortably in five-star territory. Sister brand Lexus fared better with its Lexus UX small SUV, getting a healthy 96 percent rating on adult protection.
Volkswagen’s new Touareg was the only vehicle that failed to crack 90 percent for adult protection, scoring 89 percent, mainly because of marginal chest protection for the driver in three of the tests – front offset, full frontal and oblique pole.
However, it still did well enough overall to come through with a fivestar rating.
The Range Rover Evoque – to be launched in Australia this week – scored well in adult protection with a 94 percent haul, but was let down by a 72 percent pedestrian and cyclist crash protection rating, despite having sophisticated safety features including an active bonnet and pedestrianprotecting airbag.
“The Range Rover Evoque offers a range of active safety assist systems and tests of its autonomous emergency braking scored well,” Mr Goodwin said.
“Tests of lane support functionality showed some ‘good’ performance, however, the system does not intervene in more critical emergency lanekeeping scenarios.”