Australia's safest electric car? 2022 Kia EV6 nabs coveted safety rating alongside new-gen Mercedes-Benz C-Class

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has handed out the latest round of crash-test results, with the Kia EV6 and new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class scoring big across the board.

Kia’s first all-electric model yielded a 90 and 87 per cent score in the adult and child occupant protections tests respectively, while also notching a 64 and 88 per cent result for the vulnerable road user protection and safety assist categories.

This was enough for a maximum five-star crash safety rating, but Kia’s EV6 fell short of other all-electric models in some areas.

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The Polestar 2, BMW iX also scored five-star ratings under the same testing conditions in 2021, with the former beating out the EV6 in the adult occupant protection and vulnerable road user protection tests (92% and 80% respectively), while the BMW iX scored better in all but the safety assist assessment (78%).

MG’s ZS EV was also awarded a five-star rating, managing a 90, 84, 64 and 71 per cent result across the four tests when tested in 2019.

Either way, the five-star rating applies to all variants of the Kia EV6.

Meanwhile, the new-gen C-Class has added to Mercedes-Benz’s strong safety track record with another five-star result, notching up 91, 90, 80 and 84 per cent scores for the adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user and safety assist tests.

The maximum safety rating applies to the C200 and C300 sedans.

ANCAP also awarded a five-star rating to the Volkswagen Multivan PHEV that is sold in New Zealand, with a 90, 89, 69 and 79 per cent score across the four assessments.

ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg said: “Today’s results demonstrate that models across a range of market segments, brands and powertrains can continue to achieve the highest levels of safety for Australian and New Zealand consumers.”