Baby SUV gets five stars from Ancap
Toyota New Zealand is yet to announce local specification of its C-HR baby-suv, which will be launched in April.
But we do now know it will come with an impressive suite of active-safety and driverassistance features, because they’ve played a critical role in ensuring a five-star crash-test rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (Ancap).
The Ancap rating is based on tests conducted by Euro Ncap, which reveal a solid performance across all areas under review: adult, child and pedestrian protection, along with a solid suite of safety assist and crash prevention technology.
C-HR features active safety systems such as lane support, emergency brake assist and autonomous emergency braking, along with adaptive cruise control.
Lack of this type of driverassistance technology was part of the reason for the Ford Mustang’s controversial twostar rating earlier this year.
Ancap says the C-HR’S fivestar rating will be valid for all models sold in NZ and Australia.
During the crash tests, which include frontal offset, full width frontal and pole the C-HR demonstrated good cabin integrity with well controlled displacements for the foot pedals and steering wheel.
There was a light risk of serious chest injury for both the driver and rear passenger in the full width frontal test. Maximum protection was provided in the side impact and pole tests.
The C-HR also comes equipped with a set of safety features that, until recently, were more common on luxury brands including a lane support system, emergency brake assist and autonomous emergency braking along with adaptive cruise control.
AA spokesman Liam Baldwin says while the Toyota C-HR is not the most spacious compact SUV in the segment, it ticks a lot of boxes on the safety front.
"Too often we’re disappointed that vehicles released in our market don’t boast the same level of safety features as those sold overseas," Mr Baldwin says.
"While there are a couple of features included on European variants of the C-HR that won’t make it to our market [including pedestrian detection for the autonomous braking technology], Toyota has ensured it’s not letting us down."
Ancap is supported by all Australian motoring clubs, the NZ Automobile Association, the Australian Government, the NZ Government, Australian state and territory governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, NRMA Insurance and the FIA Foundation.