Most new cars are, generally, getting safer and safer.
More airbags and better structures to protect people in crashes, design rules to minimise injuries to pedestrians, even more tech to prevent crashes and impacts in the first place. We’ve come a long way since having ABS and an airbag for each front passenger was good enough.
In Australia and New Zealand, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) applies a rating of one to five stars to selected new cars, usually high-volume models, to give consumers an idea of how safe a new car is.
In the last few years, ANCAP’s testing methods have become more stringent, requiring cars to have more features and perform in more specific scenarios. Along with some changes to Australian Design Rules (ADRs) making cars ineligible for sale in Australia, ANCAP’s changing rules have caused varying degrees of headache for some brands.
At the moment, one brand with an at-least surface-level issue with ANCAP is Suzuki.
The Japanese brand only has one model with a current ANCAP rating, that being the Swift hatch. Its rating is one star, as tested in 2024. It ranked poorly in Adult and Child Occupant Protection (47 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively), as well as Safety Assist (54 per cent), while its Vulnerable Road User Protection was assessed at a more decent 76 per cent.
The Suzuki Jimny and Vitara are technically unrated given it’s been so long since they were last put through the ANCAP wringer, but the Jimny racked up three stars in 2018, the Vitara five stars in 2015.
The last generation Swift scored a maximum five stars in 2017, aside from the base model’s four stars due to some missing features.
Suzuki’s cars aren’t necessarily getting less safe, but with their small size and low prices, keeping up with ANCAP’s testing criteria seems to be a challenge.
At the launch of the new Suzuki Fronx, we asked the brand’s Australian Managing Director for automotive Michael Pachota, how the brand sees its relationship with ANCAP and whether that’s affecting its sales.
“Obviously, ANCAP exists, and it's an independent body that does crash testing for consumer knowledge,” Pachota told CarsGuide.
“But with that said, our safety features, the safety suite, are constantly advancing, and accident avoidance or prevention technology is getting better and better.
“Our, for example, Swift is a much safer car than the previous car, but with the goal posts moving so quickly on the ANCAP ruling, the previous car outgoing was a five-star safety rating, and all of a sudden the new one was a one-star. So tell me how that works,” he said.
Features in the Swift that ANCAP points out as missing are a front centre airbag “which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes” and backover AEB, which prevents the car from reversing into an object or person.
ANCAP announced its one-star rating for the Swift in 2024, having tested the model because it was informed the compact Suzuki's Australian specification wasn’t exactly the same as the European version, which Euro NCAP had granted three stars.
The new Fronx hasn’t been tested in Australia by ANCAP, but in Japan it received a four-star rating under JNCAP testing.
Pachota didn’t specify whether he expected the car would achieve a positive result if tested, but during the launch posited that the car is safe thanks to a healthy list of standard features and the fact it’s ADR-compliant.
“Look, safety is a high priority, absolutely,” Pachota said.
“But with that said, we believe our vehicles are definitely safe and fit for purpose. Otherwise they wouldn't be allowed into the country. ADR, strictly has requirements to make sure the vehicle is safe.
“So the vehicles allowed in the country, and ADRs in Australia, as you know, are quite, quite strict in terms of comparison to other countries.
“Then tell me that car’s not safe.”
When asked about the differences in specifications between Australia and New Zealand, and the rest of the world, and whether our cars were up to scratch in the global context, Pachota pointed to the average age of cars on local roads.
“Absolutely. It's funny, you know, like you can get a car that a decade ago got a five-star safety rating, five years ago got a five-star safety rating and wouldn't even be eligible for a one star or even a zero at this stage.
“(The) majority of the local car park is nowhere near ANCAP’s ratings now. Nowhere near. So tell me, is everyone not safe now? Should we be scared?”
Pachota added, “I think it's not about if it's important to Suzuki or not, it's whether or not it's important to the customer, and if the customer can see the safety features and understand what's in the vehicle, and if they need to go to a third party source to get an evaluation, that is entirely up to the customer, and we respect that in the customer's journey.”
- Chris Thompson, journalist.