Only four stars in Australia? 2025 Cupra Tavascan electric SUV misses out on full five-star ANCAP safety rating due to missing equipment

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has confirmed the Cupra Tavascan misses out on a five-star safety rating in Australia.

Instead, this Chinese-made electric SUV has been awarded a four-star safety score.

This rating has been derived from physical tests conducted by Euro NCAP in 2024. The two safety authorities have harmonised testing protocols.

However, the Tavascan received a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

"Cupra is committed to a high level of active and passive safety systems as standard across its range. The Travel Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Assist and Side Assist functions on the Tavascan have been recognised in real world testing by mainstream journalists as among the most comprehensive and intuitively tuned in the industry," said a Cupra Australia spokesperson.

"The Tavascan comfortably exceeds five-star requirements in three of the four segments, including segments crucial to driver and passenger safety such as Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection and Vulnerable Road User Protection. In the fourth segment, Driver Assist, the Tavascan fulfilled or exceeded all requirements with the single exception of a speed limit information function.

“Cupra welcomes independent testing of its safety systems on real roads.”

The reason for this discrepancy is Australian-delivered versions of the Tavascan forgo an intelligent speed assistance system. This feature alerts the driver when they’re travelling over the posted speed limit. It’s standard across the range in Europe.

As a result, the Safety Assist score for the Tavascan is 67 per cent. In order to receive a five-star ANCAP safety rating, a car must receive a minimum of 70 per cent in this particular category.

This is far from the first time a car has received a higher Euro NCAP star over ANCAP. Recent examples include the Honda Civic, CR-V and ZR-V, as well as the Suzuki Swift.

Despite this, the Tavascan did perform well across the other areas of assessment. It scored 89 per cent for Adult Occupant Protection, 87 per cent for Child Occupant Protection, and 80 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection.

“Crash protection is a fundamental element of every ANCAP safety rating, and the Cupra Tavascan performed well in these areas with strong structural performance,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

“While some improved performance across the Safety Assist pillar could have enhanced its score, the absence of an advanced speed assistance system primarily contributed to this four-star result.

“Speed sign recognition and an intelligent speed limiter are standard in European models but have not been made available to current Australian Tavascan buyers.

“The Tavascan performed well in each of the other areas of assessment, and we encourage Cupra to consider an update to Australian vehicles to elevate it to the five-star level of its European equivalents.”

This recent four-star ANCAP safety rating for the Cupra Tavascan follows the Jaecoo J7 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) receiving a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

It’s worth noting that petrol versions of the Jaecoo J7 are still unrated for the time being.