ANCAP safety ratings to expire this year for Australian best sellers

A selection of new vehicles, including some of the best-selling nameplates in Australia, are set to lose their coveted five star ANCAP safety rating this year.

The move will apply for any vehicle with a rating that’s six-years-old or older. This follows the introduction of numerous rounds of changes to the Australian New Car Assessment Programme’s ratings system over the last decade, each more stringent than the last.

Those to lose their five star rating include vehicles well known for appearing in the country’s monthly best-seller data, including the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Mitsubishi ASX, and Nissan Navara.

Other models impacted include the Mazda2, Mazda CX-3, Ford Everest, Volkswagen Amarok, Toyota Prado, Ford Everest, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Suzuki Vitara, and Honda HR-V.

While each of these models has been awarded a five star rating from ANCAP in the past, it’s likely that some of them would be able to achieve the same result in 2022, given the increased difficulty of the testing regime.

The decision is unlikely to impact whether any of the aforementioned models continue to be offered for sale locally or not.

For some models losing their rating, looming updates mean there’s little harm. Out of those listed above, the Ranger, Everest, HR-V, and Amarok are all set to be replaced with new models in the coming years (in the case of the Ranger and Everest, coming months).

The question becomes more complicated for a vehicle like the Nissan Navara, for example. The updated Narava was launched on both sides of the ditch last year and is likely to continue to be sold in its existing state for at least two years.

Nissan must now evaluate whether it wants to get the Navara evaluated to see if it can perform well according to ANCAP’s current testing regime.

The decision to give all ANCAP ratings a six-year period of relevance before having them expire was first proposed in 2021.

It came following complaints from manufacturers that ANCAP results were confusing to consumers, particularly when two cars could both be seen as ‘five star cars’; even though one might have passed a much more stringent set of tests than the other.