Manufacturers are winning over the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) with the structural integrity and safety features of their latest models. 3 new cars were added to ANCAP’s list of 475-vehicle strong database with 5-star crash safety ratings.

The latest Toyota Corolla sedan has only recently been released onto the Australian market but its solid safety features and performance ratings have already endeared it to urban drivers looking for security combined with economic viability.

Similarly, the latest WRX from Subaru impressed ANCAP enough to secure the top safety rating. Such safety accolades are vital to Subaru’s ongoing marketing efforts as the brand aims to become an attractive prospect to drivers with families and other safety-conscious motorists. The WRX is still a month away from launching in Australia but Subaru spokesmen believe that this kind of positive exposure will lay the groundwork for encouraging sales results in April.

The WRX also managed to achieve a 'good' result for pedestrian safety, which ANCAP revealed was something of a rarity for new vehicles in Australia. Subaru’s recent release last month also impressed ANCAP as the Subaru impreza reviews by Motoring.com.au reveal that it received a five star rating as well, thanks to its well-designed safety features including no fewer than seven airbags.

The Peugeot 5008 was the third of the recent additions to ANCAP’s 5-star safety list. However, this model has been available in Australia for some time and the rating was awarded after Euro NCAP supplied ANCAP with their data rather than subjecting the 5008 to repeated testing.

"This is the direction in which we want to see manufacturers heading," said ANCAP Chairman, Lauchlan McIntosh, who praised the respective manufacturers for their forward-thinking philosophy towards consumer safety.

"In recent years we've seen manufacturers achieve vastly improved results with the majority of major brands now building to five-star standards. What we want to see now is manufacturers [striving] beyond the requirements – offering even higher levels of structural and active safety to consumers."

However, the ANCAP chairman also added that the efforts of car manufacturers who are releasing new models into Australia weren’t an unqualified success: After rigorous crash testing trials for each of the new models, he noted one of their significant drawbacks:

"Unfortunately none of the models in today's release are equipped with autonomous emergency braking [AEB] – an important safety feature that is now common on popular vehicles in Europe and the USA."

Clearly, there is still some way to go before manufacturers with an eye towards the Australian market can be completely satisfied that they have the full confidence of both the consumers and ANCAP itself. However, the changing attitudes towards safety technology are positive indicators that this will remain a top priority for those manufacturers who want to stand out for all the right reasons.