Volkswagen’s up! has scored the maximum five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), making it the most affordable new five-star car on the road.
Priced from $13,990, the little car features driver and front passenger airbags, plus front side/ head airbags, ABS with brake assist, ESP and the up!’s much-lauded City Emergency Braking system.
ANCAP chairman Lachlan McIntosh says he is please to see safety features as standard, while some convenience items have been relegated to the options list.
“ANCAP is pleased to see that the Up! provides advanced safety features as standard and offers other occupant comforts such as Bluetooth as optional extras,” says McIntosh.
“It is hard to fathom why features that protect vehicle occupants are sold as optional extras by most manufacturers, yet alloy wheels and leather seats, for instance, come as standard,” he notes. “The move by Volkswagen to include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) in the up! as standard across all variants is a welcome change.”
“The standard fitment of safety features and safety technologies is something ANCAP has been advocating for some time and all manufacturers should follow Volkswagen’s lead,” he adds.
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