Cars with 5-Star safety ratings

A vehicle's safety can never be understated as it's undeniable that accidents happen, and if you are in the market for a vehicle, you should be shopping for the vehicle that offers the best possible safety for your budget. With this in mind, we have created a list of vehicles that are sold locally and which currently have 5-Star safety ratings.

Ratings and procedure

In general, a crash test involves Frontal-impact tests, Moderate Overlap tests, Small Overlap tests, Side-impact tests, Pole-impact tests and
Roll-over tests scoring the vehicle for Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Pedestrian Protection and Safety Assist systems, which score the car a rating from 0 to 5 stars as follows:

• 0-Star-Meeting type-approval standards so can legally be sold but lack critical modern safety technology
• 1-Star-Marginal crash protection and little in the way of crash avoidance technology
• 2-Star-Nominal crash protection but lacking crash avoidance technology
• 3-Star-At least average occupant protection but not always equipped with the latest crash avoidance features
• 4-Star-Overall good performance in crash protection and all-round; additional crash avoidance technology may be present
• 5-Star-Overall excellent performance in crash protection and well equipped with comprehensive and robust crash avoidance technology

Safety programmes

There are several safety rating programmes around the world that test vehicles to determine how safe they are. We have compiled a list of each and will explain a bit about them:

• Euro NCAP- Often referred to as the gold standard of vehicle safety testing programmes, a 5-Star rating from this Belgian-based European authority is highly respected.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)- This America-based company tests vehicles destined for American shores and is funded by insurance companies.
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)- Another American company concerned with testing the safety of products sold in the USA.
• Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP)- Australia's crash test authority is a good place for South Africans to find safety data for local products as we share many vehicles in common with the right-hand drive Australian market.
• Chinese car safety assessment programme (C-NCAP)- With many new Chinese vehicles coming to South Africa, this China-based programme helps determine how safe the vast number of products coming from the world's fastest-growing economy are.
• Latin New Car Assessment Programme (Latin NCAP)- Like the ANCAP programme, the Latin NCAP tests vehicles that are often sold in South Africa as well as in Latin America.
• New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asia (ASEAN NCAP)- Another programme testing some vehicles destined for local shores is the ASEAN, with many Southeast Asian countries having the same models sold locally as in South Africa.
• Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP)- This UK-based non-profit organisation aims to educate developing countries about road safety and vehicle safety ratings, with initiatives such as Safer Cars for India and Safer Cars for Africa campaigns testing many cars sold in the South African markets.

Cars with 5-Star safety ratings*

We have compiled a list of vehicles sold new in South Africa in 2022 that have been recently crash-tested by various agencies:

BMW 2 Series- The latest rear-wheel drive coupe from BMW has achieved a 5-Star rating from Euro NCAP.

 

Volkswagen Polo- The locally-produced Polo has just been updated, as has its EuroNCAP score, which is 5-Stars now in 2022.

 

Haval H6- The H6 was tested in 2022 by the ANCAP programme where it achieved the maximum 5-Stars.

 

Hyundai Staria- The South Korean Brand's futuristic MPV achieved a 5-Star score from ANCAP in 2022.

 

 

BMW iX- The Bavarian brand's deeply impressive EV also received top marks from ANCAP and Euro NCAP.

 

 

Volkswagen Caddy- The long-awaited new generation of VW's family-friendly van is here, and it's safe, with a 5-Star ANCAP and Euro NCAP safety rating.

 

 

GWM P Series- The popular budget-friendly double can from China received a 5-Star rating from ANCAP in 2021.

 

 

Hyundai Tucson- The latest mid-size SUV from Hyundai is here, and sports a 5-Star ANCAP and Euro NCAP rating valid since 2021.

 

Subaru Outback- The Outback has 5-Star ratings from several agencies for safety, but the ANCAP and Euro NCAP tests conducted in 2021 are the most recent.

 

 

Kia Carnival- Kia's latest MPV is stylish and safe, scoring a 5-Star ANCAP rating in 2021.

 

 

 

 

*This list was compiled using products sold new in South Africa at the time of writing, with all ratings being given in either 2021 or 2022. There are many more vehicles with 5-Star ratings on the local market but were tested at an earlier date, or are yet to be released locally.