Still on top! 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport retains impressive safety rating despite age, while Mercedes GLC also rated

Not every car gets a second chance when it comes to safety ratings, but ANCAP has retested the 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport and announced it has retained its five-star safety rating it was originally awarded in 2015 under less strict testing circumstances.

The recently updated Discovery Sport boasts new safety features as well as having had a major facelift less than four years ago. ANCAP has also since changed its testing criteria to be more stringent.

ANCAP also announced the new Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV has also gained a five-star rating, perhaps surprising few given the German brand's track record with ANCAP - of 41 models tested in Australia only four have ever missed the five-star mark, and those by just one.

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ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) found both models offered comprehensive safety systems and protection overall, but pointed out a flaw for each.

For the GLC, ANCAP was concerned with the SUV's lack of ability for "preventing serious pelvic injury to a struck pedestrian" rating it zero for that particular area of the testing.

For the Discovery Sport, ANCAP says the "side chest-protecting airbag did not deploy correctly" and awarded the model a range of 'Good' to 'Marginal' scores in the category of protection to occupants in a crash.

ANCAP Chief Executive Carla Hoorweg called it "an impressive achievement" for the near decade-old SUV to have retained a five-star rating under newer, stricter testing methods and grading.

ANCAP also announced the new Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV has also gained a five-star rating.

"ANCAP's assessments and vehicle safety have both come a long way since the Land Rover Discovery Sport was first assessed in 2014.

"For the same generation model to be awarded five-stars against ANCAP's more recent protocols is an impressive achievement."

While the Discovery Sport has technically remained the same model since 2014, it had a major update in 2019 when it began being built on a new platform shared with the likes of the Jaguar E-Pace, replacing the Ford-derived platform it was conceived on.