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ANCAP and experts call to mandate AEB, still missing from 60 per cent of new cars

The number of cars with AEB is increasing, but is that enough?

Standard autonomous braking could soon be compulsory for all new cars, with a soon-to-be-published review into the National Road Safety Strategy calling for AEB systems to become mandatory.

The high-tech safety feature - which uses radar, laser or camera technology to detect obstacles in front (and sometimes behind) your car, and then applies the brakes automatically if you fail to do so - is being fitted to more new cars than ever before, with our national crash body, ANCAP, citing a 10-fold increase in new vehicles with standard AEB in just two years

But some experts argue those numbers don't go far enough, with a soon-to-be-published independent review into our National Road Safety Strategy - penned by Dr John Crozier from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons - to call for the government to mandate the technology, like has been done with both ABS and ESP.

"(AEB) reduces the problem a distracted driver might cause with currently preventable death and serious injury, at even low speed impact, particularly for pedestrians or other vulnerable road users," Dr Crozier told the ABC.

"There have been hundreds of deaths and arguably thousands of serious injuries that have occurred in the absence of (AEB)."

Recent research from ANCAP found that, while AEB was fitted as standard to just three per cent of new cars in December 2015, that number had grown to  31 per cent of new vehciles by March 2018.

“This is an encouraging result for for consumers, and the vehicle brands leading the charge should be commended,” says James Goodwin, ANCAP’s chief executive. “To see one-third of all popular selling models now offer this driver assistance technology as standard, we’ve moved some way closer to achieving a reduction in crash incidence and severity - but there is still a long way to go."

Of the top 100 best-selling vehicles in Australia, 37 models offered AEB as standard in March 2018 (representig 31 per cent of the market) while 35 models (29 per ccent of the market) didn’t offer AEB anywhere in the range. Another 29 per cent of the market was covered by vehicles that didn't offer the technology as standard, but as a cost extra. 

The research, conducted between December 2015 and March 2018, found that, while the number of cars with standard AEB was increasing, some of the county's best-selling models - including the top-selling Toyota HiLux - don't offer autonomous braking anywhere in the range.

“This year, we’ve adopted a significant change to our (ANCAP) rating system to encourage the standard offering of AEB across the market, and we’re confident this will see further acceleration in AEB availability,” Goodwin says.

Best-sellling cars with and without standard AEB as of March 2018 (source: ANCAP)

Model

As of December ’15

As of March ’18

March ’18 sales rank

Ford Ranger 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

1

Toyota Hilux 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

2

Toyota Corolla

Not

Available

Optional

3

Mazda 3

Optional

Standard

4

Hyundai i30

Not

Available

On

Higher Variants

5

Mazda CX-5

Optional

Standard

6

Nissan X-Trail

Not

Available

Standard

7

Mitsubishi Triton 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

8

Toyota RAV4

Not

Available

Standard

9

Volkswagen Golf

On

Higher Variants

Standard

10

Hyundai Tucson

N/A -

not in top 100

On

Higher Variants

11

Kia Cerato

Not

Available

Not Available

12

Honda CR-V

On

Higher Variants

On

Higher Variants

13

Mazda CX-3

Optional

Standard

14

Hyundai Accent

Not

Available

Not Available

15

Toyota Prado

On

Higher Variants

Optional

16

Honda Civic

Not

Available

On

Higher Variants

17

Mitsubishi ASX

Not

Available

Optional

18

Nissan Navara 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

19

Mitsubishi Outlander

On

Higher Variants

Optional

20

Subaru XV

Not

Available

On

Higher Variants

21

Toyota Camry

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

22

Toyota Kluger

On

Higher Variants

Standard

23

Holden Colorado 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

24

Kia Sportage

Not

Available

On

Higher Variants

25

Nissan Qashqai

Not

Available

Standard

26

Toyota Landcruiser Wagon

On

Higher Variants

On

Higher Variants

27

Honda HR-V

On

Higher Variants

On

Higher Variants

28

Toyota Hilux 4x2

Not

Available

Not Available

29

Mazda 2

Optional

Standard

30

Hyundai Kona

N/A -

not in top 100

Optional

31

Subaru Impreza

Not

Available

On

Higher Variants

32

Subaru Outback

Standard

Standard

33

Isuzu Ute D-Max 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

34

Holden Astra

N/A -

not in top 100

Optional

35

Subaru Forester

On

Higher Variants

On

Higher Variants

36

Holden Commodore

Not

Available

Standard

37

Volkswagen Tiguan

Not

Available

Standard

38

Toyota Yaris

Not

Available

Optional

39

Mazda CX-9

Not

Available

Standard

40

Honda Jazz

Not

Available

Not Available

41

Mazda BT-50 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

42

Toyota Landcruiser Cab Chassis

Not

Available

Not Available

43

Suzuki Swift

Not

Available

On Higher Variants

44

Toyota C-HR

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

45

Isuzu Ute MU-X

Not

Available

Not Available

46

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

N/A -

not in top 100

On Higher Variants

47

Mitsubishi Lancer

Not Available

Not Available

48

Volkswagen Amarok 4x4

Not

Available

Not Available

49

Hyundai Santa Fe

On

Higher Variants

Standard

50

Kia Rio

Not

Available

Not Available

51

Holden Captiva

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

52

Ford Mustang

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

53

Volkswagen Polo

On

Higher Variants

Standard

54

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

55

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Standard

Standard

56

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Optional

Standard

57

Toyota Hiace Van

Not

Available

Not Available

58

BMW X3

Optional

Standard

59

Suzuki Vitara

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

60

Kia Carnival

Not

Available

On Higher Variants

61

Holden Trax

Not

Available

Not Available

62

Ford Focus

On

Higher Variants

On

Higher Variants

63

Ford Ranger 4x2

Not

Available

Not Available

64

Ford Everest

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

65

Ford Escape

N/A -

not in top 100

On Higher Variants

66

Mazda BT-50 4x2

Not

Available

Not Available

67

Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

68

Isuzu Ute D-Max 4x2

Not

Available

Not Available

69

Kia Picanto

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

70

Audi Q5

Optional

Standard

71

Audi A3

Optional

Standard

72

Kia Sorento

Not

Available

Standard

73

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class

Optional

Standard

74

Hyundai iLOAD

Not

Available

Not Available

75

Holden Equinox

N/A -

not in top 100

On Higher Variants

76

Hyundai Elantra

Not

Available

Not Available

77

Nissan Pathfinder

Not

Available

On Higher Variants

78

Jeep Grand Cherokee

On

Higher Variants

On Higher Variants

79

Lexus NX

On

Higher Variants

Standard

80

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

Standard

Standard

81

Holden Barina

Not

Available

Not Available

82

BMW X1

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

83

Mitsubishi Pajero

Not

Available

Not Available

84

Land Rover Discovery Sport

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

85

Nissan Navara 4x2

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

86

Mitsubishi Triton 4x2

Not

Available

Not Available

87

Mazda 6

Optional

Standard

88

Toyota Fortuner

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

89

BMW 3 Series

Standard

Standard

90

Renault Koleos

N/A -

not in top 100

Optional

91

Toyota Hiace Bus

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

92

Porsche Macan

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

93

BMW X5

Standard

Standard

94

Land Rover Range Rover Sport

Optional

Standard

95

BMW 1 Series

N/A 

not in top 100

Optional

96

Audi Q2

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

97

Subaru WRX

Not

Available

On

Higher Variants

98

Holden Trailblazer

N/A -

not in top 100

Not Available

99

Audi Q7

N/A -

not in top 100

Standard

100

Is no standard AEB a new-car dealbreaker? Tell us in the comments below.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to...
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