ANCAP Results August
August 7, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) today released results of crash tests of the new Toyota RAV4 CV compact 4WD and the Honda Civic VTi sedan.
Both vehicles managed a four-star safety rating while the 2007 Ford Focus managed a five-star safety rating (if optioned out with side curtain airbags). Interestingly though, for the pedestrian crash results the Civic and RAV4 scored three stars out of four while the Focus, the smallest of the three, only managed two stars.
ANCAP noted that head protecting side airbags have proven themselves to be very effective in reducing head injuries in severe side pole crashes. Honda does not package all variants of the Civic with side and curtain airbags, but Toyota does for the RAV4. Both cars miss out on ESC for entry model variants.
The report also showed that only 30 percent of all new cars sold in Australia have ESC, as we mentioned earlier today, Suzuki has just announced ESC standard on the top of the range Grand Vitara Prestige while at the same time, Hyundai has dropped both ESC and side and curtain airbags for the base model Santa Fe.
ANCAP recommended that all new vehicles sold in Australia come standard with ESC as soon as possible, perhaps hinting at Federal authorities to make ESC mandatory on all Australian delivered vehicles.
Print it: 
If they made ESP standard, there should have all vehicles standard with side and curtain airbags. You aren’t always in control of your car when you are on the road. ESP isn’t going to help you much, once you’ll already been hit by someone else.
Me thinks that there should be driver defensive courses for all people starting out first time as compulsory (is this the case now???). Further, depending on age, there should be reviews of license re-testing and driver defence courses partly funded by Government as an intiative towards driver responsibility on our roads. People who lose points and are close to losing license should all be put through this. Many times there are people on the road who drive bad, dangerously and these people should be put through the paces like all of us by having periodic reviews. As for safety; to trim costs for car makers build smarter and with costs savings implemented on the factory floor and the office; and NOT at the expense of safety items that should be dam well compulsory in every car (high level ABS, high level EBS, high level ESP, Airbags in front / knee front for driver / side front / curtain in front and back and these should not be tiny things either but a certain big size like in Commodore or Falcon! Who cares how the media or car makers dissect this; I have a whiplash injury that is still causing me grief more than 14yrs down the track so if you have an opinion… SHOVE IT! Thus all you armchair experts, HEAPS OF SAFETY IN CARS COMPULSORY AND NOT OPTIONAL!
i dont know that esc would be of much benefit. i think it would tend to make drivers a little more complacent. dont forget drivers have to take control and wear the responsibility if they are at fault. esc will only help you if you are at fault. how can you blame a car just because it doesnt have esc???
“oh yeah it wouldnt have happend if it had ESC” what a silly perception.
if there is a foolproof system thats helps when the car is on its limits then people will just push it harder when it has ESC because they will think it is invincible.
oh yeah roberto,
i also know someone that had airbags go off at low speed and the airbags subsequently gave them whiplash.
hey not that im saying airbags are bad, i actually think they are great, just a little story thats it
A airbag is better then none Andrew M! My point simply is it is better to include safety items than have none!
Yeah I have had an accident and hit a kangaroo at around 65kms per hour and airbag never triggered.
Andrew M – I would be looking at the car maker as they probably take shortcuts and fact remains that even if no airbag at 80kms when I had a drunk driver pull out on me on the Gold Coast is FAR WORSE THEN YOUR BUDDY HAVING A MINOR TWINGE! Iam not disputing your mate has a injury but it would be darn worse then no airbag.
You can all sugarcoat your chardonnay comments however way you want, reality is no safety benefit or skimping on it is worse VERSUS a car with safety to the hilt added!
gee settle down roberto,
i agree, give me an airbag anyday. fortunately i have never had one deploy on me, i guess thats a good thing.
all i did was give a little story of something i was told, but as i said i think airbags are great.
i am saying airbags, yes huge benefits.
on the other hand i still stand by my comments on ESC.
Andrew M – Iam sorry. Mate my comment was like that at the end not for you, but my comments here are directed against the industry in general and the government. As far as the bean counters in the car industry go, they set the agenda on what is in and out of the inclusions; and legislation at government level is not overly 2007 and up to date!
Anyone who gets whiplash upon using an airbag should clearly find out what symptons they have with no airbag. Minor pain at worst and short term?
Your right on Andrew on the ESC ,but I think it applies to a lot of the nanny controls cars have now.
People rely on the controls to save them not the controller. Not saying we aren’t better for them or we don’t need more of them standard on cars ,but experience and training should be the tools that saves us and others in the end .
Driver defensive courses to train the people across the board. So if you are in the 18-24yr bracket for example, evry 2yrs after you obtain license a refresher course and perhaps internet based exam or virtual reality drive to assess. Then say in different age groups (eg: 30-34yrs old and based on driving history) an exam and driver defensive course to apply. Yeah I understand that some people will go in there thinking they are a rally car driver and some will buck the system and think they are superman; my point is it has to be an improvement over the whole population and it must help more then now! As I said it could be structured so it is foolproof, easy and not putting an increase in revenue raising by placing it on internet website where the person logs in and results recorded. If they fail that test, then more assistance needed one on one. I drive with work and lots of people do not overly know the rules or drive with bad habits.
“Me thinks that there should be driver defensive courses for all people starting out first time as compulsory”
Yes Roberto & Bavarian Missile, driver training is the key to better safety. I think there should be more funding for better driver training courses/programs.
We have plenty of Roo’s where I live and driving at night in an area of poor road lighting does test the extents of the drivers underwear. I’m personally not a fan of too many electronic nannies, but airbags and a structually sound car are a must.
I find it unfortnate that many only care about car safety after they’ve had a near death experience. I’ve had a few, but luckily none of them in a car.
It is about time the lazy useless overpaid and underworked fatcat politicans took the road of compulsory driver training on a regular ongoing basis and legislate mandatory safety inclusions in cars as standard. If our fatcat pollies can duplicate red tape between State and Federal and then hand out taxpayers money willy nilly to some stupid LATTE programs or funds for bridges in silly foreign countries; then they could work in collarboration with the motoring industry to bring it up to date both in terms of real serious driver defensive training regularly by subsidising part thereof or most of it and the legsilation of requirements of car makers on what is permissible in DOWNUNDER. Further, more development has to go into animal collisions by installing noise device or similar on vehicles as the roads at early night in some locations are a nightmare and most people who drive on the road where I live are not local and they have not got a clue about many roos being around. This non-addressing by government puts a strain and burden on repair claims year after year and premiums thus rise somewhat from this, so for example less animal impacts with roos, the better premiums in reality should be. As for what Andrw M said; yes agree but the more safety items on a vehicle is better and the only time politicans or people react to this and make a stand is when it happens to someone they know or themselves – this is a short term band aid fix at very best.
Another disgusting thing I cant stand is road repairs, any authority or council that attends to any repairs MUST COMPULSORY MACHINE SWEEP OFF THE FINISHED WORK WHEN WORK COMPLETED AS SICK OF GETTING STONE CHIPS, MARKS ON WINDSCREEN OR WINDSCREEN BROKEN. Again in useless dinosaur pollies or red tape lack of productivity beaurecrates should take the lead and set the agenda and not only be reactionary and only act when complaints come in as again a short term fix at best by them!
Everyone makes mistakes, no matter what level of skills or training we’ve had. When mistakes happen you are far better off in a car fitted with ESC and curtain airbags than a car without.
I think Hyundai’s Santa Fe decision is an absolute disgrace, particularly given their stance toward ESC etc upon the Santa Fe’s release last year.
With mistakes prevention is better then cure!
Continuing that theme; it is better to do driver defensive courses and retraining depending on driving history and age on a regular ongoing basis. This way a serious better attempt will occur to nip it in the bud rather then leave all drivers to there own devices. I know people who have no idea how to drive safely or when the car slips out from under them on a gravel road for example they turn the steering wheel in the wrong way, etc.
BRING IT ON AND LET PEOPLE BE BROUGHT UP TO A CERTAIN SKILL LEVEL. It does not matter if indestructible Superman turns up and thinks he is Juan Fangio; it overall will do MORE GOOD THAN BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe an ageing Little Jonnie or I never get out in the sun Union Lover Kevin Rudd take note and move forward and not stagnate!