2017 Mazda MX-5 RF scores five-star ANCAP

The Mazda MX-5 RF achieved the same safety rating as its soft-top sibling that was tested in June 2016.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has announced the five-star rating achieved by the Mazda MX-5 drop-top sports car in June 2016 will be carried over to its retractable hardtop RF sibling, which went on sale in Australia last month.

When it was tested the MX-5 achieved a total score of 35.2 out of 37, acing the side impact test with a score of 16 out of 16, and the pole test with two out of two.

In the frontal offset test it achieved a score of 14.2 out of 16, losing points for the head/neck and lower leg areas, while in the whiplash protection test it scored a maximum possible rating of 'good'.

The MX-5 shone in the pedestrian protection test by scoring 33.72 out of 36, which is the highest rating achieved by any car tested by ANCAP.

This was achieved thanks to its active bonnet technology which pops up when an accident is detected, as well as the energy-absorbing foam in the front bumper beam that helps prevent a pedestrian's legs from sliding underneath the front of the car.

Mazda Australia has also used the ANCAP rating to announce that it has introduced blind spot monitoring and a rear cross-traffic alert as standard across the entire MX-5 range.

Its January figure was enough to outsell other affordable sportscar rivals.

In addition, the RF GT variant gains adaptive LED headlights for greater illumination when cornering.

Standard safety equipment already in the MX-5 includes front driver and passenger and side airbags, ABS, dynamic stability control, emergency brake assist, emergency stop signal, hill start assist and traction control.

Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak said the five-star rating for the RF came as no surprise to the company.

"We expected the five star rating would carry over to the MX-5 RF, but as we've done across most of the Mazda range in recent months, we were keen to introduce more safety technology for the benefit of our customers," he said.

Mazda sold 115 examples of the MX-5 in January, after finding homes for 1577 units through 2016.

Its January figure was enough to outsell other affordable sportscar rivals such as the Toyota 86 (107) and the Subaru BRZ (59).

It was unable to beat the Ford Mustang that found 389 homes last month. Earlier in January the Mustang received a disappointing two-star rating from the ANCAP safety watchdog.

Would you rather purchase the soft or hard-top version of Mazda's MX-5? Tell us what you think in the comments below.