A range of new cars, including the new Mazda 3, Toyota RAV4, Volkswagen Touareg, Lexus UX and Range Rover Evoque have been awarded 5 star ANCAP ratings.

In the latest round of testing, ANCAP has awarded the new Mazda 3, Toyota RAV4, Volkswagen Touareg, Lexus UX and Range Rover Evoque 5 star ratings.

In making the announcement, ANCAP boss, James Goodwin, said “It is encouraging to see safety continuing to be prioritised across the market.

“The physical protection offed by the popular-selling Mazda 3 was excellent, scoring a record high 98% for Adult Occupant Protection.”

“Petrol and hybrid-powered Toyota RAV4 models scored well across the range of tests, with strong performance of its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system seen across a range of speeds and scenarios with cars, pedestrians and cyclists. In the oblique pole test, engineers noted an issue with the deployment of the side curtain airbag and penalties were applied.”

“In the Large SUV segment, the Volkswagen Touareg offered ‘Good’ protection in side impact testing. ‘Marginal’ levels of protection were noted for the chest of the driver in both frontal crash tests and the oblique pole test.”

“All FWD and AWD variants of the hybrid Lexus UX are fitted as standard with a range of safety assist features including AEB, lane support and blind spot monitoring, and ‘Good’ performance was seen across testing of these features.”

“The Range Rover Evoque offers a range of active safety assist systems, and tests of its autonomous emergency braking scored well. Tests of lane support functionality showed some ‘Good’ performance however the system does not intervene in more critical emergency lane keeping scenarios,” Mr Goodwin said.