Recent crash testing by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has shown that more can be done to improve occupant protection in utilities sold in Australia, with a number of utes only rating two and three-stars for safety.

The Commodore Ute came out on top, achieving a four-star result for providing a range of safety features – including anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake distribution (EBD) and electronic stability control (ESC) – as standard.

In other results, the Mazda BT50 gained a three-star rating, the Nissan Navara was awarded three-stars under ANCAP’s sister program EuroNCAP, and the Mahindra Pik-up scored two-stars out of five.
The Mazda BT50 also shares the same design platform as the Ford Ranger and the two are expected to have similar crashworthiness.

AANT Technical Manager, Mark Borlace, said the performance of the Commodore ute was a sign that manufacturers could design and build for occupant protection.
“We are seeing more and more four and five-star vehicles on the Australian market, and we would expect that a utility vehicle should earn a five-star rating in the near future,” Mr Borlace said.
“Manufacturers are building key safety technologies as standard features in many of their models – and while some utes are definitely safer than they were five years ago, more needs to be done.” 
“Many are lacking in basic occupant protection, which is an occupational health and safety concern for drivers of these vehicles.”

Mr Borlace said there were a number of results of particular concern.
“In testing of the Mazda BT50 – which gained a three-star rating – the frontal offset crash by ANCAP left the passenger compartment severely deformed, with the steering column, dashboard components and park brake lever presenting as potential sources of injury,” he said.

Following the poor result from EuroNCAP, Mr Borlace noted that Nissan has since upgraded the airbag performance of the Navara ute and advised that the latest three-star rating from Europe applies to airbag-equipped models on sale in Australia.
“Despite the improved performance, there is still a high risk of serious injury and also of concern is that Australian models of the Navara are available without a driver airbag and could be expected to perform worse than the model tested in Europe, where airbags are standard,” he said.

Disappointingly, the Mahindra Pik-Up, which only rated two-stars, has minimal safety features and, despite the dual cab configuration that is popular with families, does not include top tether anchorages for child restraints. 

 

  “While under Australian regulations these features are optional on this style of vehicle – which can be classified as commercial – we’re pleased Mahindra has advised ANCAP it will be providing driver and passenger airbags in 2008 models and the anchorages will be a standard design feature from 2009.”
Other crash test ratings for vehicles tested by EuroNCAP which are sold in Australia were the Fiat 500 fitted with ESC, the Volvo V70 and Peugeot 308 with ESC and knee airbag, which all scored five-stars; and the Fiat 500 without ESC, the Peugeot 308 without ESC or knee airbag and the BMW X3, which all scored four-stars.

Pedestrian test ratings were three out of four-stars for the Peugeot 308, two stars for the Volvo V70 and Fiat 500, and one-star for the Commodore Ute, Mahindra Pik-Up and BMW X3.
ANCAP crash tests new vehicles, awards them a star rating for safety and publicises the results to the motoring public.

ANCAP is supported by all Australian and New Zealand motoring clubs, all Australian state governments, the New Zealand government, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, the Insurance Australia Group and the FIA Foundation.  For a full list of ANCAP’s vehicle safety ratings, including more commercial vehicles, and other vehicle safety information, go to www.ancap.com.au