ANCAP ratings announced
The latest batch of crash test results from the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) have been released today. As reported earlier the Great Wall Motors X240 SUV did well achieving a four-star rating whilst the Toyota Camry Hybrid managed a disappointing 4-star rating.
The winner of the lot was the new 2010 Volkswagen Polo, scoring a 5-star rating.
The results for the Volkswagen Polo are not surprising given how well it has performed in other tests. However as our previous article mentioned, the Toyota Camry Hybrid results added another burden to Toyota's recent troubles.
ANCAP Chair, Lauchlan McIntosh, said “the 4-star result for Camry – which is the first of the environmentally-friendly vehicles to come off Toyota’s Australian production line – was the same result as the Camry tested by ANCAP in 2007. The Camry Hybrid’s stablemate, the Aurion, received a 5-star rating last year and we think there was an expectation that this innovative vehicle would do as well."
Toyota pointed out that ANCAP doesn't take into consideration a great deal of safety features offered standard on the Camry Hybrid, most of which not available on the Great Wall Motors SUV which scored the same result.
According to ANCAP tests of the Camry Hybrid, the driver’s knees were vulnerable to injury from the steering column. The unfavourable results were evident despite the car's steering column being redesigned for keyless ignition.
The other minor feature which the the Camry Hybrid doesn't come with is the passenger seat belt reminder, a basic feature that is already available on the Toyota Aurion, Holden Commodore and Ford Falcons.
Speaking in regards to the seat belt reminder Mr McIntosh said “around one fifth of all road deaths involve occupants not wearing seat belts so a seat belt reminder is a very important safety feature”.
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