Safety

Safety has become the latest secret battleground for luxury car makers - you can't see it, but it is very important.As modern cars are required to include more and more active safety technology, both through regulations and pressure from customers, the difference in safety between a mainstream and luxury vehicle has shrunk.Which is why integration of these active safety systems is the new area of focus for premium brands such as Audi, allowing it to separate itself from both direct luxury rivals and mainstream offerings.It’s part of the reason why Audi has undertaken over 10,000km of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) testing in Australia, to ensure it works smoothly and without unnecessary distraction to the driver - something many of these systems are guilty of, particularly in cheaper, more mainstream models.“Almost anyone can build a nice watch for $300, but to get a really good watch you have got to invest quite a lot extra - it's all about the one percenters,” explained Peter Strudwicke, product manager for the new Audi Q3. “And we have a lot of those that we apply to all the cars we develop. Eighty percent good is not good enough.”Strudwicke added that Audi is so serious about ensuring its safety systems aren’t distracting or sub-standard, that it would rather not offer them at all if they cannot be properly calibrated.“It's the depth of engineering. It's integral to the whole company, they won't sign something off if it's just good enough, it needs to meet quite a high standard,” he said. “It's one of the reasons why we didn't have traffic sign recognition. We wanted it for years. We got it quite late because the engineers weren't comfortable with how the technology was and how it read Australian traffic signs. It's still not perfect, but once it got past a certain level of accuracy, then they were happy to turn it on for us.”Matthew Dale, head of product planning for the German brand in Australia, expanded on the level of work that Audi is undertaking to ensure that safety becomes a key separating factor for the brand as the entire market gets more competitive.“We do all local tuning and testing for ADAS systems, and was certainly one of them that we did,” Dale said. “With, say the A5, we brought those cars here, a fleet of them, with the latest ADAS systems, with speed sign recognition and things like that, to refine that for the Australian market. And I think it's that software engineering that goes into the cars as well, specific to the Australian market, because the Australian market is quite a popular test bed globally.“Pete mentioned an example before where we've got some unique scenarios in Australia that the tuning of the ADAS systems has been tuned for the Australian market, but that tuning's gone global. Tuning ADAS systems for tunnels, as an example. We've done over 11,000km of testing quite recently for next generation ADAS systems. “We're importing more cars this year to do significant test bases. And I think the new Q3 benefits from the last time we did the ADAS testing two years ago to refine it for the Australian market. And you can see with the lane guidance and the lane centring and things like that, it's that next generational step that isn't as intrusive.” Dale said ensuring the safety systems not only don’t distract the driver, but also don’t detract from the driving experience is a key tenant for Audi.“When you drive a car, people like me enjoy driving the car,” he said. “For some people it's an A to B, but you've still got to have enjoyment in a comfortable environment without the car taking over the inputs of the driver and making it a very comfortable drive. And that's,  I guess, where a premium product is meant to be, is it's meant to feel like a premium space and something that's not intrusive.”

Whether it’s lazy cost-cutting or an endeavour for design minimalism, the proliferation of touchscreens replacing buttons in new cars might have passed its peak.Feedback from both customers and media, as well as new assessments from safety organisations such as Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) and by extension ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program), could see more brands retreat from the trend of placing controls for key functions in the main touchscreen of their new models. While there are certainly fans of controls within touchscreens - particularly interior designers and engineers at certain brands - calls for easier access to commonly used controls have resulted in Euro NCAP and ANCAP changing testing criteria for 2026, bringing into account the ease important controls can be accessed.Things like indicators, hazard lights, windscreen wipers, headlights and even the horn are just some of the controls that will need to be easily accessible under new testing procedures spearheaded by Euro NCAP.“New assessments of the human-machine interface (HMI) are introduced” in its 2026 criteria, the safety body said in a press release in late 2025.They focus on “evaluating the placement, clarity, and ease of use of essential controls”, Euro NCAP said, “including the availability of physical buttons for commonly used functions, which consumer feedback suggests can reduce distraction”.Australia’s own ANCAP and Euro NCAP often align their policies on such things, and so ANCAP has since confirmed it will be doing the same.“If you’ve noticed that some new cars have the most basic driver controls buried within touchscreens and sub-menus, you’re not alone,” ANCAP’s latest publication said.“It’s time to bring back buttons and stalks and remove some of the complication (and distraction!).“From 2026, we’re asking car makers to either offer physical buttons for important driver controls like the horn, indicators, hazard lights, windscreen wipers and headlights, or dedicate a fixed portion of the cabin display screen to these primary driving functions.”It’s been part of the plan for years, with ANCAP’s CEO Carla Hoorweg having said as early as March 2024 reducing distractions for drivers is a key goal for the organisation."We know driver distraction is a growing factor in road crashes, so it is important that certain in-vehicle controls are easily accessible by the driver and don't complicate the driving task or contribute to in-car distraction or inattention," she said."Physical buttons or stalks to operate these key vehicle controls will be encouraged through scoring, with manufacturers awarded points for the prioritisation of physical controls."While this means brands like Tesla and Volvo, who have been two of the earliest adopters of the ‘big screen’, will have to reconsider how much of the key controls and functions of new cars go into touchscreen menus.Fortunately, some brands have refused to follow the trend.Not long after the 2024 statement from ANCAP, Aston Martin Director of Design Miles Nurnberger told CarsGuide that physical controls are important for retaining the right ecosystem for a driver to feel able to properly use the car.“As an overall industry, there is a big digitisation ecosystem, and that's been a really interesting challenge for us because a lot of car companies have tried to profess to be a tech company,” he said.“I think years ago, it was like you needed some buttons. You put them in the car and buttons and buttons grew, and I think understanding why someone buys a car… led us down a path of looking at all the buttons.“I might be able to make something seemingly more efficient by burying everything in a screen, but it doesn't talk to the real user experience.“You look at the best experience, the best user solution. It might be physical, it's tactile. I can do that with my thumb. I don't take my eyes off the road. I'm a better driver for it.”It’s not just brands like Aston Martin who are committing to buttons.Toyota’s new models still feature a healthy serving of physical controls, as does its upmarket sibling Lexus.Hyundai (and by extension Genesis) follow the same philosophy. Sibling brand Kia is much the same.Chief Creative Officer for Hyundai and Genesis Luc Donkerwolke admitted in 2024 the brands had gone too far in minimising physical controls.“We are always paying attention that we don't end up in the ridiculous situation that you have to go to sub menus,” Donkerwolke said.He also confirmed the reason for removing buttons often comes down to cost-saving.“It's easy to reduce all costs when you only have digital keys . It's low tooling investment, you can do whatever you want, it's only software. The problem is it's not compatible with the use of a car. “We have a clear philosophy, eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel, and if you do something else like that you are basically putting in danger the life of your customers.”

My 2025 GWM Jolion's 360-degree camera has either taken a still photo or the screen has frozen. How can I fix this?

Chinese brand LDV has put out an urgent recall for thousands of its Deliver 9 vans in Australia.The recall concerns 8643 Deliver 9 examples from the 2019 to 2023 model years relating to a fuel leak issue, according to a Department of Infrastructure notice. “Due to a manufacturing defect, the low-pressure fuel delivery line may not meet specifications,” the notice reads.“As a result, it may deteriorate allowing fuel to potentially leak resulting in loss of motive power whilst driving, and in the presence of an external ignition source may result in a vehicle fire.”A spokesperson for LDV Australia said there have been no reported incidents of the issue occurring in Australia. Owners of affected vehicles should contact their local LDV dealer to make an appointment for inspection and subsequent fuel line replacement if required, free of charge. This latest recall notice supersedes the one published back in late 2024, which concerned nearly 12,000 Deliver 9 units from the 2021 to 2023 model years - also relating to a fuel leak issue.The Deliver 9 has been a steady seller in the segment up against other full-load vans like the Isuzu N-Series and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

Enough is enough – serious questions have to be raised about Australia’s independent crash testing authority.The Australasian New Car Assessment Program, better known as ANCAP, has been a beacon of safety for the past three decades.And while it has no doubt been a driving force in ensuring Australians and New Zealanders drive safer cars, in recent years I have noticed some troubling, confusing decisions that have raised concerns in my journalistic head.And the latest example is perhaps the most troubling of all – ANCAP’s decision to not independently crash test Australia’s most popular passenger car, despite the car maker acknowledging it is missing key safety technology required to get ANCAP’s maximum five-star safety rating.I’m talking about the new Toyota RAV4, which the Japanese giant admits is missing key safety elements required for a five-star rating under the new-for-2026 testing protocols.This is because the RAV4 was meant to launch in late 2025 and Toyota designed it only to meet the previous testing protocols.While you can certainly question Toyota’s ‘just in time’ approach, and the fact that if Toyota had met those requirements it would have received a five-star rating that it could use for the the majority of the new RAV4’s showroom life, even as other new SUVs launched from now onwards would require a higher standard of safety (but that is an ongoing problem for ANCAP and not unique to this situation).Importantly, Toyota has said updates are coming to ensure the RAV4 meets the new five-star standard, but hasn’t made it clear precisely when that will happen or what those changes are.What is most troubling is that ANCAP has not publicly stated when, or even if, the RAV4 will be crash-tested by ANCAP or its sister organisation, Euro NCAP.A statement provided by ANCAP and attributed to Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg on said: “As with any new model entering the Australian or New Zealand market, the Toyota RAV4 is a potential candidate for ANCAP assessment.“Details of models scheduled for testing and rating are not publicly released until assessments are complete.“We are aware of Toyota’s planned update to the RAV4 later this year. Until independent safety testing has been conducted, the updated model will remain unrated.“Given the RAV4’s popularity, ANCAP encourages fleets and consumers to consider the availability of an independent safety rating when making purchasing decisions.”That’s sound advice, people should definitely consider the safety of an unrated car.But it doesn’t answer the question of why ANCAP won’t simply crash test the RAV4 now.It was the biggest selling passenger vehicle in Australia in 2025, so it is an obvious choice for families.ANCAP is funded by governments, motoring clubs and other industry bodies, but it does not have infinite resources to crash test every new model that comes into the market – especially as each test requires between six and seven cars to be written-off as part of the process.Therefore, the majority of the testing is carried out on cars supplied by the car brands.It’s a mutually beneficial relationship – the car brand (hopefully) gets a five-star rating to advertise, while ANCAP gets another crash test to promote and consumers get an independent assessment of the safety of what cars they are buying. It’s a win-win-win situation.Except in this case, because Toyota is, understandably, not about to submit a car it knows won’t pass all the tests with flying colours. And ANCAP is seemingly happy to wait until that time.As time in crash labs is in-demand and usually booked months or even years in advance, CarsGuide understands Toyota has already arranged for the updated RAV4 to be crashed by Euro NCAP later in 2026.But why wait? Why is ANCAP happy to give Toyota this time to sell an unrated version of the RAV4? This is fundamentally a bad thing for you – the Australian consumer (and taxpayer).Without knowing specifically when the updated RAV4 will arrive in Australia, let's use an example of six months. In 2025 Toyota sold 24,034 examples of its mid-size SUV in that span.That means, if it takes six months for Toyota to update the car and get it into showrooms, potentially more than 20,000 Australians will be buying an unrated car.I completely understand ANCAP’s budgetary limitations, it simply cannot afford to go out and buy six or seven examples of every unrated vehicle.But surely, if it is going to spend its own money on crash testing specific models, surely you start at the top of the sales charts and work your way down?Some of the cars that ANCAP has self-funded crash tests for in the past include the Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai i30 Sedan and Suzuki Swift.Combined, those three models sold 12,303 examples in 2025, compared to 51,947 RAV4.Far be it for me to tell ANCAP how to run its business, but it would seem like, from a return-on-investment perspective, it should be looking to help the greatest number of people for its direct funding, and crash testing the best-selling models would seem like the best way to do that.To be clear, I’m not accusing ANCAP and Toyota of collusion or favouritism, but this is simply a very strange situation and a very hard ‘square to circle’, so to speak.As the organisation states on its own website: “ANCAP plays a vital role not only informing consumers of the differences in safety performance of new vehicles entering the Australian and New Zealand vehicle fleets.”Also stating: “ANCAP is Australia and New Zealand's independent voice on vehicle safety.“We crash test cars and conduct on-track and on-road performance assessments on safety features and technologies then publish a simple star rating or grading to indicate relative safety performance.“Over the last three decades we have published independent safety ratings for thousands of new vehicle makes, models and variants. These independent safety ratings and gradings are used to compare the relative safety between vehicles of similar size and have become a critical factor in vehicle selection for private consumers and fleet buyers.”Except in this case, where one of the best-selling vehicles in the country has been given extra time to prepare and leaves thousands of customers set to miss out on safety features that ANCAP itself has deemed important (hence the updated 2026 protocols).What is most troubling to me is, what message does this send to the industry and to consumers?Can a car maker launch a less-well-equipped model with an attention-grabbing initial price, sell it for a few months (or longer) and then add safety and submit it for ANCAP testing? That would be a dangerous precedent to set, in my opinion, but in the future car brands will be able to point to this situation and claim that it is simply following past form.Again, to be crystal clear, I’m not accusing Toyota of deliberately deploying this as a tactic, it seems like a genuine production-related issue.But ANCAP, as the independent safety body that it is, should step in and crash test the RAV4 that is on sale today to give consumers a clearer choice.

The car Toyota is calling the “safest car” in its line-up has launched this month without an official safety rating from the nation’s independent vehicle safety authority.The 2026 Toyota RAV4, the new generation of not only the brand’s most popular car globally but the most popular passenger car in Australia, has launched without a rating from ANCAP (the Australasian New Car Assessment Program) after the brand was caught out by changing safety standards.Originally set for a late 2025 launch and designed to score full marks in ANCAP’s 2025 testing procedures, the RAV4 was delayed until 2026, which means a new set of testing criteria has been introduced.It means the car that’s got the best chance of turning Toyota’s rare sales dip is missing a key selling-point for not only private customers, but more crucially for commercial buyers including fleets that have requirements for five-star ANCAP ratings.The RAV4 will be updated later this year ahead of its eventual testing, with some changes to the car apparently needing to be physical to score top marks against new criteria. Toyota Product Planning Specialist Peter Phan wouldn’t reveal what the changes would be specifically, but said they would apply to “passive and active safety systems, but structurally the vehicle will not change”. The changes to the RAV4 later this year won’t be able to be retrofitted to cars already purchased.It means cars bought before the update will remain unrated, and customers will have no way to know if their RAV4 would actually achieve five stars under ANCAP’s testing.It’s an unusual move for ANCAP to agree to delay testing a new model, especially for one so popular, as it means thousands of new RAV4s will be untested.While Toyota’s new Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said the brand expects sales of the new-gen RAV4 to stay healthy despite the lagging safety rating. He said the brand will sell about 40,000 RAV4s in 2026.“Before we wholesaled the car, we had about 10,000 orders already taken,” Pappas told CarsGuide at the new generation RAV4’s launch.“So that gives us a good indication on the demand at that early point before actually launching it.”He said the lack of ANCAP rating isn’t as important as making sure customers are aware of the RAV4’s safety credentials.“The most important thing for us, first and foremost, is safety,” said Pappas.“This RAV vehicle, from a safety point of view, now becomes the safest car… in our line-up.“It's not only the safest RAV, but it's actually the safest car we've actually got in it from what it's got in it, from a package point of view. First car with the new multimedia, first car with the new Arene software, first car with Toyota Safety Sense 4.0.“For us, that's what's most important, because we know with these features and benefits in the vehicle, we know that customer safety is at that level.”Pappas added the brand is working closely with eventual customers of the RAV4 in the commercial sector, keeping them up to date with the progress and scheduling orders based on requirements for safety ratings.“With those fleets that have a five star ANCAP policy, we're working with those fleets very closely in terms of their orders, when they're placing their orders based on five-star. So we're very transparent. And that's what we do at Toyota, we're very transparent. “Number one is all about what safety is in the car. Number two, make sure we're transparent, and, you know, satisfy our customer.”Toyota seems extremely confident in the RAV4’s chances of achieving five stars under the new testing criteria, but with the update and testing yet to happen, we asked whether a four-star result would be unacceptable for Toyota.“It's not about four-star. It's about making sure that we satisfy what's important to our customer. That's what's important to us,” Pappas said.“And let's not forget, every single year, whether it's RAV, whether it's HiLux, whether it's another car, we have tech changes, we have minor changes, we have big changes.”While Pappas wouldn’t be drawn on how the brand would react to a result less than five stars, he implied Toyota’s regular updates to its models would address it as soon as possible.“And within those milestones, we always look at upgrading features and benefits on the car, whether it's safety, whether it's over-the-air updates, whether it's going to be aesthetic changes, whatever. “We continuously do that on every one of our cars. That's not new. So, yeah, later this year, there will be a tech change on RAV, but that's not new for us, yeah, and I just want to stress about the safety in the car.”

Hyundai has recalled thousands of examples of its Kona, Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade and Ioniq 9 SUVs, as well as the Sonata sedan.It affects 3445 units for the 2025 model year in relation to a software issue with the digital driver display, according to a notice from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications Sports and the Arts. “Due to a software issue, the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) may fail to illuminate the visual vehicle speed, fuel level and other critical safety information,” the notice reads.“A loss of safety system warnings whilst driving, could increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users and bystanders.”A spokesperson for Hyundai Australia said there have been no reported instances of the issue in Australia.The brand will contact owners of affected vehicles to arrange an appointment to rectify the issue via a software update. If the vehicle is Bluelink enabled, the update will be delivered automatically over-the-air (OTA).Hyundai has had a solid start to 2026, with models such as the Kona and Tucson some of the most popular SUVs in Australia currently. The brand recently recalled nearly 5000 examples of its Ioniq and Kona EVs earlier this month. 

The Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts has issued a safety recall notice impacting close to 5000 Hyundai electric vehicles sold new in Australia from 2018 to 2023.

The Nissan Qashqai is among several models to learn their safety fate as part of the latest batch of Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) ratings.The updated Qashqai family SUV has received a four-star rating, down from the five-star rating awarded in 2017.The Qashqai maintained a high child protection rating of 91 per cent, but it saw substantial drops in the Adult Protection, Vulnerable User Protection as well as Safety Assist categories.The 78 per cent Adult Protection rating was in significant part due the front structure of the car presenting a moderate risk to occupants of oncoming vehicles in the frontal offset test.Its Vulnerable Road User Protection rating was at 68 per cent, while its Safety Assist rating was 62 per cent.The incoming Suzuki e-Vitara was also hit with a four-star rating.The e-Vitara was the first Suzuki to be tested by ANCAP since the Fronx compact SUV. The Fronx was subject to a major recall following its one-star rating, with ANCAP urging people to not travel in the rear seats of the car.With a 77 per cent Adult Protection rating, the e-Vitara had marginal protection for the driver’s chest and adequate protection for the passenger’s chest, with good protection elsewhere.The car was also marked down due to the lack of a centre airbag, according to ANCAP.The safety regulator’s Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg acknowledged the safety improvement from Suzuki.“It’s encouraging to see improvements in safety performance across the market, this latest rating achieved by the e-Vitara is evidence Suzuki can produce a model that offers sound levels of safety performance,” Hoorweg said.There were new five-star ratings for the revamped Audi A3 hatchback and the Q3 compact SUV. The A3 was awarded 86 per cent for Adult Protection and 80 per cent for Child Occupant Protection, while the Q3 got 87 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively.The other car to earn a five-star rating was the updated Cupra Leon hatchback. It received 88 per cent for Adult Protection and 86 per cent for Child Protection, with 82 per cent each for Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist.

Are there any outstanding recalls on the 2024 Chery Tiggo?