2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6, Lexus RX earn five-star ANCAP safety ratings

The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 and 2023 Lexus RX have earned five-star ratings from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) independent safety organisation.

While the ratings for both vehicles for Australia are being released in 2023, testing for the Ioniq 6 and RX was conducted last year by ANCAP's Euro NCAP overseas counterpart under the earlier 2020-22 crash-test criteria.

The Hyundai and Lexus performed well in crash testing, ANCAP says, with the Ioniq 6 recording 97 per cent in the Adult Occupant Protection category – a record result under the 2020-22 criteria, matching the Tesla Model Y rated last year.

Meanwhile, ANCAP says the Lexus RX posted a record score of 89 per cent in the Vulnerable Road User Protection category – which covers pedestrians and cyclists – and a "healthy" 93 per cent in the Safety Assist category.

However, the safety body says a "penalty" was applied for the centre airbag as "technical evidence to demonstrate effective performance across a range of different seating positions was not supplied."

"As electric vehicles don’t have large engine components under the bonnet, they have the potential to pose less risk to vehicle occupants in a frontal crash scenario, compared to petrol and diesel cars," ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said in a media statement.

"We have seen that play out in testing of the Ioniq 6 – with only a very slight penalty applied for potential injury risk to adult occupants.

"The Lexus RX is another of our top performers – achieving high scores across all key areas of assessment resulting in a five star ANCAP safety rating."