Three important new models have bagged top marks in crash testing by ANCAP, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. All three of the three vehicles tested — Holden Colorado, Hyundai i30 and Subaru BRZ — are either recent arrivals in Australia or yet to go on sale, in the case of the BRZ. This illustrates the growing relevance of the crash testing authority's findings to the car companies and their consumers.
Holden's Colorado arrives in the market with a safety rating to place it on equal footing with Ford's locally-developed Ranger/Mazda BT-50 siblings or the Volkswagen Amarok, providing the Holden the passive safety that is a prerequisite for commercial vehicles in an increasingly demanding market.
Like its competitors, the Colorado is expected to pick up as much as 80 per cent of its market share from sales of the dual cab variants, claims Holden’s Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, John Elsworth. By inference, the ANCAP rating, which is based on crash-testing a dual cab variant of the Colorado, is likely to become a heavily-weighted factor in the decision to purchase the vehicle.
“Today’s LCVs serve a dual purpose - they are a weekday work horse but often perform the
duties of an SUV at the weekend so it was imperative that Colorado included increased standard passenger comfort and safety,” said Mr Elsworth, according to a press release issued by Holden.
“Colorado has earned a well-deserved reputation as a hardworking, solid, safe and reliable light commercial vehicle and this announcement will further enhance that status. We’ve been thrilled with the response to Colorado, it’s generated genuine excitement across our dealer network and in the marketplace and this announcement cements what a great addition the all-new Colorado is to the Holden portfolio.”
Hyundai's march towards five-star compliance across the range continues with the i30, leaving just the iLoad/iMax on four stars. The second generation i30 has improved on the points tally of the first-generation car, moving up from 32.54 to 35.69. The earlier car was five-star rated also, but the new i30 offers improved pedestrian safety this time around, including an impact absorbing bonnet structure and member-less front-end side module.
“The new generation i30 follows in the footsteps of Hyundai’s all-new vehicles achieving the highest safety rating achievable in the Australian market,” said Oliver Mann, Marketing Director at Hyundai Australia. “It is further testament to Hyundai’s continued commitment to bringing industry-leading occupant and pedestrian safety within reach of all Australians.”
As mentioned already, Subaru's BRZ has been tested by ANCAP before even going on sale in Australia — lending Subaru a theoretical marketing advantage over the Toyota-badged 86, even though the two cars are structurally identical. Press information for the BRZ remains under embargo until the official launch of the new sports car, later today. More information about the new sports car will be published at motoring.com.au tomorrow, when the embargo lifts.
ANCAP Chairman, Lauchlan McIntosh praised the three companies for their respective vehicles' results, but reserved encomium for the Holden Colorado in particular.
“It’s satisfying to see manufacturers lifting the safety of light commercial vehicles. Manufacturers have been incorporating greater levels of safety into passenger vehicles for some time now, yet the safety of LCVs has trailed,” said Mr McIntosh, quoted in a press release.
“Pressure not only from ANCAP, but now big business, is encouraging manufacturers to elevate safety as a priority in the design and construction of new LCVs, and consumers are the winners,” he added.
According to ANCAP, roughly 180,000 vehicles sold into the Aussie market each year are light commercial vehicles. Of those, however, just 13 per cent have been ranked by ANCAP at five stars for crash safety. ANCAP's finding that the Colorado merits a five-star safety rating follows the official announcement of a new purchasing policy for federal government fleets. Effective from July 1, all light commercial vehicles must be four-star safe or better to warrant acquisition.
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