What is a safety rating for a car?
A safety rating is a score or grade that indicates how safe a car is. It reflects the vehicle's performance on government crash tests, as well as its safety features and the likelihood of injury to an occupant. In Australia we use the ANCAP safety rating, these ratings will be explained in detail below.
Top 10 safe vehicles Australia 2022
There are certain criteria to consider when you are looking for a safe vehicle. One of the most important is the safety rating. The safest vehicles have a five-star safety rating.
The top 10 safest vehicles in Australia in 2022 are:
1) Hyundai Santa Fe
2) Toyota RAV4
3) Mazda CX-8
4) Subaru Forester
5) Toyota Fortuner
6) Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
7) Volvo XC60
8) Alfa Romeo Stelvio
9) Mercedes Benz EQC
10) Volkswagen Tiguan
Why should you buy a 5-star safety rated car?
The world has changed, and you never know what's going to happen on the road. In order to protect yourself in a car accident, you need to buy a vehicle with high safety ratings. A 5-star safety rating is the minimum requirement for peace of mind on the road these days.
Are 5-star safety rated cars more expensive?
The number of safety features a car has correlates with the price. Luxury cars are more expensive than economy cars because they have more safety features and typically higher quality construction.
5-star safety rated cars are generally more expensive than their 4-star counterparts. However, the difference in price is small and many people consider the peace of mind worth the cost.
ANCAP Safety Ratings Explained.
ANCAP safety ratings for vehicles evaluated against four key areas:
- Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) – This is the level of protection that the vehicle offers to the adults seated in the front and rear seats, in the most common type of accident scenarios
- Child Occupant Protection (COP) – This is the level of protection given to child occupants in appropriate restraints in the rear seats and the ability to fit a range of child restraints is also assessed.
- Vulnerable Road User Protection (VRU)- Assesses the design of the front of the vehicle if it were to strike a pedestrian or cyclist. Assessment will also be made on the ability to avoid such situations.
- Safety Assist (SA) – Evaluates fitted safety technologies to the vehicle which will help minimize the effects of a crash.
A range of tests and assessments are done within each area, with vehicles that a required to meet minimum score thresholds for each star ratings. The overall rating will be given to the vehicles once these test have been conducted.
Conclusion: Why buy a 5-star safety rated car?
Safety ratings are an important factor when deciding to purchase a new car. ANCAP rates vehicles on a 5-star scale based on the likelihood of serious injury resulting from a crash. These ratings can be found on the ANCAP website www.ancap.com.au
