No current plans for Toyota GR86, Subaru BRZ safety ratings

The 2023 Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ sports cars are not currently slated for safety testing by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) – but if they are tested, a five-star rating is not a certainty.

The safety organisation says the sports-car twins are "not currently scheduled" for crash and safety technology testing – and Toyota and Subaru they have no plans to proactively submit their cars for testing.

However, at a later date ANCAP may choose to test the cars – by purchasing its own vehicles off a showroom floor, as a customer would, without the approval of, or supplied vehicles from the manufacturer.

"The BRZ and GR86 are not currently scheduled for ANCAP testing, but as with all new models entering our market, they may be considered for upcoming ANCAP assessment," ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg told Drive in a statement.

The original Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ earned five-star ANCAP ratings when they were tested in 2012 – but far stricter criteria today means this may not happen again, if the new second-generation models are tested.

Where the sports cars may lose marks is in the Safety Assist technology category, as no variants are equipped with lane-keep assist or an intelligent speed limiter system (which can read speed signs) – which make up a significant portion of the available points for this category.

Manual variants also lack nearly all of the automatic's advanced safety technology, including autonomous emergency braking (forwards, and in reverse) and lane departure alert.

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) will become mandatory for new vehicles introduced after 1 March 2023 – a cut-off the GR86 scrapes past by just six months.

All passenger cars on sale will be required to have AEB from 1 March 2025 – threatening the future of the manual in both cars (click here for more details).

"It's disappointing to see certain variants brought into the market so close to the regulatory requirement for models to be fitted with AEB," ANCAP CE Carla Hoorweg told Drive in a statement.

Based on Drive's calculations, a manual GR86 or BRZ would not be able to achieve a five-star ANCAP safety rating, as it could not score more than 62 per cent in the Safety Assist category, due to its lack of autonomous emergency braking.

A vehicle's overall ANCAP star rating is "limited by its lowest performing area of assessment" – and to achieve five stars overall under the latest criteria, cars must score more than 70 per cent in the Safety Assist category.

A 60 per cent or above Safety Assist score is needed for four stars. In other categories, the bar to clear for five stars is 80 per cent for Adult and Child Occupant Protection, or 60 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection (pedestrians and cyclists).

However, the exact ANCAP safety performance of either car cannot be accurately predicted – across all four categories – until it is tested by the safety body.

Speaking to Drive at the launch of the new GR86 this week, Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley said the company has no plans to submit its new sports coupe for ANCAP testing.

"No, it's a niche market vehicle. We have no plans to get it ANCAP rated," Hanley said. "But having said that, it comes with an incredible vast array of safety features."

While the GR86 doesn't sell in the same numbers as a Toyota family SUV or ute, ANCAP and its Euro NCAP counterpart have turned its focus to sports cars before – testing the Ford Mustang in Europe in 2017 amid growing sales relative to its market segment.

A Subaru Australia spokesperson said in a statement: "BRZ has not yet been tested by ANCAP, and timing for testing is still being confirmed."