Latest ANCAP crash testing has four Euros on five stars

Four new vehicles from Europe have recently undergone ANCAP crash testing and passed with flying colours.

Polestar 3

First up, the Polestar 3 EV impressed with a very high level of protection offered to child occupants, scoring 94 per cent. It also received top marks for the effectiveness of its child presence detection system (CPD). The set-up offers direct feedback to the driver if child occupants are left in an unattended vehicle. The vehicle was almost as effective at Adult Occupant Protection with a 90 per cent result.

Its active safety features include reverse AEB, which prevents driveway and carpark reversing collisions involving children and adults. It received a 79 per cent score for safety assist and also vulnerable road user protection.

Volkswagen Tiguan

Next up, Volkswagen Tiguan, which also achieved five-star ANCAP status. It scored 83, 88, 84 and 84 per cent across each of the respective Adult, Child, Vulnerable Road User and Safety Assist categories. ANCAP said that the five-seat Tiguan presents a safe all-round package. Driver and front passenger protection in the frontal offset crash test was judged as being very good.  

“The Tiguan blends a solid crash structure with a well-rounded active safety offering. That makes it a dependable and practical choice for the safety-conscious family,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg. 

Audi A5

Audi’s full-size sedan, the A5, achieved an 87 per cent scores for both Adult and Child Occupant Protection. Protection from injury in the range of destructive crash tests was Good overall. Good levels of protection were also observed for child occupants in the side and frontal crash tests. A child presence detection system is fitted, although this system is not as sophisticated as the direct monitoring CPD system fitted to the Polestar 3.

The collision avoidance systems fitted to the Audi A5 showed effective performance, with the most consistent performance seen in car-to-car autonomous emergency braking functionality. The A5 achieved solid scores of 78 and 79 per cent for Vulnerable Road User and Safety Assist categories, respectively. 

Volkswagen Multivan

This people mover first arrived in New Zealand in 2022, though did not go on sale in Australia until early 2025. It features a host of airbags throughout, helping it to achieve a 90 per cent Adult Occupant Protection score and 88 per cent for Child Occupant Protection. 

Strong scores were recorded in each of the physical crash tests. For Vulnerable Road Users, the score was 69 per cent and for Safety Assist Multivan managed 79 per cent.

“For families and businesses transporting people regularly, the Multivan offers reassuring levels of protection throughout its three-rows as well as to those outside the vehicle,” said Ms Hoorweg. 

Unlike the other three tested here using the latest criteria, the Multivan was assessed using the 2020-2022 crash test regimen.