Understanding ANCAP car safety ratings to compare vehicles | RateCity

ANCAP is an acronym for the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. They are an independent vehicle safety authority that reviews every new car sold in Australia and New Zealand. They pay particular attention to the safety features and assign the cars a star rating which ANCAP then publishes to indicate a vehicle’s safety level.  

While ANCAP is best known for the star ratings that help consumers compare different car models based on safety, it also works on the bigger picture of automobile safety by working with the industry as a whole. ANCAP works for enhanced safety through design and specifications and is engaged with governments, corporate fleets, the media and consumers to advocate vehicle safety. 

ANCAP Safety is the leading independent vehicle safety authority. It has published safety ratings for thousands of vehicle makes and models sold in Australia and New Zealand. Every year they offer an ANCAP rating on 95 per cent of new vehicles sold in Australia and New Zealand. 

You can find similar New Car Assessment Programs (NCAPs), or test programs, in nine locations around the world to promote safer vehicles, and ANCAP is one of them.

The ANCAP safety rating is a system of 0 to 5 stars given to cars to indicate a level of safety. The rating offers consumers an easy way to judge how safe a particular vehicle is for both the people inside and any pedestrians or cyclists in the event of a crash. The rating also reflects the vehicle’s ability to avoid or minimise the effects of a crash through technology.

When you’re looking at the ANCAP safety rating for different car models, more stars indicate that the vehicle performed better in ANCAP’s safety tests. A 5-star ANCAP safety rating means that the car meets the highest standards in all tests and has advanced safety assist technologies. These tests and assessments have also changed over the years as car technology has changed and made cars safer. This means that a more recent rating year tells you that the vehicle has been put through more stringent tests.

ANCAP offers ratings to new passenger vehicles, sports utility vehicles (SUV) and light commercial vehicles (LCV) entering the Australian and New Zealand markets.

ANCAP safety ratings are assigned based on internationally recognised, independent crash tests and safety assessments. The vehicles undergo a range of destructive physical crash tests. During these tests, all the onboard safety features and equipment are assessed. The tests also assess the presence and effectiveness of technologies that help to avoid collisions. 

If you would like to know the safety rating of a particular car or compare different models, you can go to the ANCAP website and enter the car make. The most important things for you to look at are the star rating and the year in which it was tested. 

You can also compare models based on: 

• The Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP) percentages, which indicate the level of protection for occupants in the event of a crash.
• The Vulnerable Road User Protection (VRU), which assesses whether the vehicle is designed to minimise the risk of injury to pedestrians. The car is also assessed for its ability to avoid impact with pedestrians or cyclists.
• The Safety Assist percentage, which measures the presence and effectiveness of technologies that help drivers prevent or minimise the impact of a crash.