2021 Toyota Kluger becomes the third vehicle to get a five-star ANCAP safety rating without centre airbag protection

The 2021 Toyota Kluger has acquired a five-star safety rating in the wake of scoring top grades in a series of local crash tests and crash avoidance appraisals. Toyota’s new-generation Kluger large SUV has been awarded the maximum five-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), however, the third-row airbag coverage falls short of fully protecting occupants.

Independent safety authority, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) – which is supported fundamentally by state and governments – issued the 2021 Toyota Kluger with a five-star rating against the hardest testing protocols to date.

While various vehicles required centre airbag protection between the front seats to achieve their new five-star results –, for example, the Toyota Yaris hatch, Mazda CX-30 city SUV, Kia Sorento family SUV, and Isuzu D-Max ute – the Toyota Kluger was the third large vehicle ready to achieve a five-star rating (out of five) without a centre airbag.

The Toyota seven-seat SUV does offer side-curtain airbags, however, protection just stretches out to the window region between the C-and D-pillars.

A design document provided by Toyota Australia shows the headrests of the third-row seats reach out past the airbag region and, with no protection at the D-pillar, leaves occupants vulnerable in a side-impact collision.

The Kia Carnival people mover and Land Rover Defender four-wheel drive additionally acquired five stars against the most recent standards without a centre airbag to prevent head strike between front-seat tenants during an extreme side-impact crash.

Of the 11 new vehicles tested against the most recent and hardest standards, the Toyota Kluger so far has the highest overall weighting across all assessment areas.

Notwithstanding the full suite of advanced safety tech fitted as standard on all Toyota Kluger variants, ANCAP praised the vehicle’s curtain airbag security for every one of the three rows of seats.

The curtain airbags in some different SUVs, for example, the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe, don’t stretch out far enough to offer head protection to third-row seat occupants.

In a media statement, ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said the Toyota Kluger’s five-star result is “good news for families and fleet buyers.”

“The occupants of all three seating rows are protected by side curtain airbags,” said ANCAP.

“A fatigue detection system, intelligent speed assistance system, and rear cross-traffic alert system are also fitted as standard … across all hybrid and V6 models.”

The ANCAP chief executive said: “With every new model generation, the highest levels of safety should be offered to provide consumers with immediate safety benefits as well as provide sustained road safety benefits for future owners and other road users.”

“Toyota (has) sought to achieve the highest level of safety with the Kluger and succeeded,” said Ms. Hoorweg. “Brands taking this approach should be proud of the proactive role they are playing to improve safety on our roads.”

ANCAP performed five destructive crash tests at laboratories in Sydney and Melbourne and directed an appraisal of crash-avoidance technology at a facility close to Orange, west of Bathurst in NSW.

While ANCAP anonymously purchases certain new vehicles for crash tests, in this occurrence Toyota financed the Kluger’s test program – anyway, the assessments were led independently and the vehicles were selected arbitrarily to guarantee they were demonstrative of examples offered to people in general.

The ANCAP website has test results and security scores for more than 780 motor vehicles dating back to the mid-2000s, albeit the association started in 1992, originating before Euro NCAP.

Crash tests and assessments of crash avoidance tech of specific vehicles are paid for by ANCAP from its restricted budget, anyway producers additionally have the alternative to pay for tests, yet can’t impact the process, the result, or keep ANCAP from publishing unfavorable outcomes.