ANCAP: BMW X5, Holden Acadia score five-star ratings

The new BMW X5 and Holden Acadia have been awarded top marks in the latest round of ANCAP safety ratings.

Both SUVs managed five stars, with the Holden impressing with strong performances in the protection of adults (94 per cent), children (87 per cent), and Vulnerable Road Users (74 per cent), along with Safety Assist (86 per cent).

"These are impressive results and it is encouraging to see Holden offer such a strong safety performer in this competitive family SUV segment," said James Goodwin, CEO for ANCAP.

Family-conscious inclusions for the Acadia include curtain airbags covering all three rows of seating, along with top-tether child seat anchor points for all second- and third-row pews.

All versions of the new Holden SUV feature autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and lane-keep assist as standard.

Meanwhile, the BMW X5's five-star rating has been carried over from Euro NCAP's scores, with the new luxury crossover managing 89 per cent in Adult Occupant Protection, 87 per cent in Child Occupant Protection, 75 per cent in Vulnerable Road User Protection, and 71 per cent for its Safety Assist systems.

While it met the criteria for a five-star score, the crash tests highlighted an issue with the driver's knee airbag, which failed to deploy correctly.

"Engineers noted concerns with the deployment of the knee airbag, and a penalty was applied against the test results of both the frontal offset and full width frontal tests. Areas of the dash were also identified as a potential source of injury for the driver’s knees, and penalties were applied,” said Goodwin.

The X5's ratings currently only apply to 3.0-litre diesel variants, as per the Euro NCAP scores.

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