Toyota RAV4 gets five star crash rating

Competition in the compact SUV market is hotting up and even a five star safety rating won't make the choice any easier. 

Toyota's new RAV4 wades back into battle wearing a five-star Australian New Car Assessment Program crash test rating, joining a growing list of little soft-roaders - including the new Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mazda CX-5 and Ford's Kuga - that score full marks.

The RAV4 - previously a four-star car when last tested in 2006 - now has dual front, side and curtain airbags, as well as a driver's knee airbag, as standard. 

Also on the safety features list are seat belt reminders for all seating positions, while some of the top-spec models can be had with adaptive front lights, blind spot warning system and reversing camera.

ANCAP CEO Nicholas Clarke says strong sales volumes are anticipated for the new Toyota compact SUV and will improve on the already-high percentage of five-star SUVs on the market in Australia. "This means more and more motorists will be driving in 5 star safety," he says.

"The RAV4 will be competing in a very competitive segment of the market and its 5 star ANCAP safety rating brings it to a new level," Mr Clarke says. 

The results, from crash tests performed on a European left-hand drive Toyota RAV4, scored 89 per cent for adult protection, 82 per cent for child occupant protection and 66 per cent for pedestrian impact protection.

The RAV's result was let down by the driver's airbag, which the test report says "was not sufficiently well inflated to prevent the dummy's head from flattening the airbag and making contact, through the airbag material, with the steering wheel."

The report said the resulting contact was not hazardous but "the car was penalised and protection of the head area was rated as adequate. The tests rated pedestrian protection as good apart from the front edge of the bonnet, which scored no points as it offers poor protection to the pedestrian's pelvic region, says NCAP.

Two veterans at the other end of the SUV segment have been given full marks in recent tests - the Toyota LandCruiser and veteran Mitsubishi Pajero were both upgraded to five stars after equipment and trim upgrades.

A change in standard equipment across the LandCruiser 200 Series range added dual front knee airbags as standard across the range, a safety feature previously only available on the top-spec models.

Mitsubishi's Pajero models built from April this year will rank as five-star SUVs after trim and equipment upgrades - the steering column undercover has had energy-absorbing material added to the underside and the addition of a passenger seatbelt alert.