Opinion: We need to talk about the dark side of ANCAP testing

Yesterday at 02:08 AM

Should new cars be as safe as possible? Of course, and I have no doubt that most people would echo this sentiment without hesitation.

In a similar vein to improving efficiencies and reducing emissions, should there be some kind of external body that can force car makers to a minimum standard of safety in the design and construction of vehicles?

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Once again, of course. If this weren't the case, it wouldn't be too hard to imagine some of the less scrupulous car brands choosing to cut corners in the quest for lower prices and fatter profits.

We've already got our Australian Standards – the Australian Light Vehicle Standards Rules (ALVSRs) in particular – that car makers need to adhere to. These were updated in 2015, replacing an older set of rules dating back to 1999.

However, there are some other standards that car makers take very seriously as they both design and plan what vehicles will be coming to Australia.

Coming from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), these aren't standards per se. But if car makers want to attain a five-star ANCAP safety rating – something that private and fleet buyers find highly important – it is often seen as a must-have.

Compared to the more steadfast Australian Standards, ANCAP testing protocols change – becoming more stringent and difficult to meet every two or three years. And if it weren’t for the work of ANCAP, there is little doubt new cars on Australian roads would not be as safe.

We're currently in a set of ANCAP testing protocols that run between 2023 and 2025, while future, more demanding protocols are set to come into play in 2026.

This is a good thing, right? Safer cars mean fewer crashes, fewer deaths and injuries, better traffic and lower insurance premiums. And I'm not foolish enough to advocate for less safe cars on our roads.

However, there is another side to this coin that is worth discussing. A side that perhaps gets forgotten about, whose ramifications are less visible. But they are there, and have an impact on the kind and cost of cars we buy today.

So, what are the problems that are born from these increasingly strict ANCAP regimes? Let’s run through them, and the burdens they place on the Australian car-buying public.

1. Cars are becoming more expensive to buy

Increased levels of standard safety technology cost a lot of money. It's expensive to test, develop and implement in new cars. Car companies are in the business of making profit, so these increased costs inevitably are passed on to you and me, the buyer.

One clear example of this is the humble, once-popular Toyota Yaris hatch. The simpler previous-generation model once had a price tag starting from around $15,000 back in 2020.

The onset of a new model, which debuted a lot of safety technology for the model and the segment, saw the entry price rise by a staggering $9000.

Now it has moved away from non-hybrid powertrains and manual transmissions, that price has gone up even further.

But one of the main driving forces behind that price rise was the inclusion of a wide range of active and passive safety technology, which was aimed at achieving a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Incidentally, ANCAP safety testing had just been bumped into a tougher echelon for that year.

At the time, ANCAP Director of Communications and Advocacy, Rhianne Robson, said in a press release: "Our 2020 requirements again set the bar higher to promote further vehicle safety improvements and address some of the ongoing challenges on our roads…"

"The Yaris introduces some of the most sophisticated passive and active safety systems – including dual centre airbags and AEB with Turn Assistance, which are features that are being seen for the first time in 2020," Robson said later in the press release.

A five-star score is seen to be the minimum standard for many car makers to meet, and it's demanded by fleets and parts of the buying public. It's also a powerful marketing tool, and even though today's four-star ANCAP car is quite safe in many respects, it can be seen to be a failure.

Beyond the nine-grand jump of the Toyota Yaris, which now doesn't sell in nearly the same kind of numbers that it once did, there are other examples of new-generation models that had a big jump in price around the same time.

The current-generation Isuzu D-Max went up by at least $5000 back in 2020, when it picked up a lot more safety technology and a five-star ANCAP safety rating. The previous-generation D-Max LS-T in 2019 had an asking price of $54,800 plus on-road costs, while the 2020 X-Terrain went to $62,900. That’s an $8100 increase.

Hyundai's new-generation Tucson’s price rose by around $2000 with the new-generation model in 2021, while the new MG 3 hatchback got a circa-$7000 price rise this year with a new-generation non-hybrid model. When comparing an old entry-level model, which was available for less than $20,000 drive-away, the new model is priced from $23,990 before on-road costs.

The Honda Civic saw a significant price rise as well of $7600, compared to the most expensive model in the outgoing range – but in fairness that price rise included additional factors around Honda's own structure and approach to retailing its vehicles.

2. Cars are becoming more expensive to insure and repair

Windscreens ain’t windscreens, and bumpers ain’t bumpers any more. Whereas a minor bingle or scrape could often be set straight with a bit of gentle massaging and maybe a lick of paint once upon a time, things aren't so simple these days.

Systems like autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring all depend upon sophisticated sensors and radars, mounted in finely tuned positions behind your front and rear bumpers.

When these are damaged, moved or misaligned, it's not just a case of making the car look pretty once again. Those components need to be tested and inspected, or possibly replaced and/or recalibrated to ensure they are up to spec.

Additionally, windscreens now house their own arsenal of cameras and sensors, which operate things like traffic sign recognition and autonomous braking systems. Suddenly, that rock that flung up from the B-Double on the highway could cost you a few thousand dollars in windscreen repairs.

A quick look online saw an older LandCruiser Prado windscreen cost a few hundred dollars without any of the safety technology, while a newer model with some safety technology costs over $1000.

For example, pricing up a windscreen for a 120 Series Toyota LandCruiser Prado (from the mid 2000s) costs $1320 through an Electronic Parts Catalogue (EPC). Going up to the next-generation LandCruiser Prado 150 Series, and you’re looking at up to $2411.

And don’t forget: while the glass might be more expensive, you’ll need to account for more time and money in the calibration of sensors and cameras when you’re replacing the windscreen.

So, these cars aren't as simple to repair. They take longer on the tools, require more parts, are significantly more expensive, and put a lot of additional strain on international supply chains.

If your own vehicle is a few years old and has a few of these systems fitted, it doesn't take much of an impact to deem the car a repairable write-off.

And to make matters worse, repairable write-offs cannot be re-registered in New South Wales. Therefore, the car is deemed scrap or only good for parts.

3. Smaller cars are going out of fashion

The nature of ANCAP testing regimes discriminates against smaller vehicles.

Larger cars have more scope, through the increased area of the crash structures, to absorb the energy of an impact and protect the occupants. Therefore, it's harder for a smaller car to meet the stringent standards required to achieve five stars.

The solution? Make small cars larger, or don't bother bringing them into the Australian market at all. And this plays into the next point…

4. Cars are becoming heavier and less fuel-efficient

All of these extra safety components are heavy and add to the weight of the vehicle. Sensors need thicker wiring looms, as well as the associated control modules and electronics to manage everything. Body structures that employ high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel around areas like the doors, floor pan and pillars keep occupants safer in a crash no doubt, but also make the vehicles heavier.

Heavier vehicles impart more force upon each other in the event of a crash, as well. So while they are certainly safer than a lightweight tin can from the 1960s, the increase in weight is partially exacerbating the problem. Spare a thought for those stuck in an older, lighter and more crumple-prone vehicle in the event of a crash…

Heavier vehicles need bigger brakes, bigger tyres, bigger components, more horsepower and will burn more fuel (or energy) to cover the same distance. It's not only Colin Chapman's worst nightmare, then.

The increase in weight is being balanced out by more efficient engines, particularly by the proliferation of electrification and hybrid technology in recent years. But when you’re looking at a car that once weighed 1070kg (a 1990 Toyota Corolla CSX Seca automatic) but is now 1400kg (a 2024 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport hybrid), you’re shifting a lot more mass in every movement.

Full credit to hybrid technology here, because a current Corolla hybrid has effectively halved the fuel consumption from the first fuel-injected Corolla back in 1991. But, imagine the efficiency on offer if the vehicle weighed a half-tonne less.

5. We will miss out on some models that could otherwise come to Australia

If a car is deemed incapable of getting a five-star ANCAP safety rating, some car makers are choosing not to bring them to Australia. Less choice, less competition, less variety.

Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott said its cut-price electric car that is currently on sale in Japan – the eK X EV – would "in all likelihood" not come to Australia, because a three-star ANCAP safety score would be likely.

The Mitsubishi eK X EV costs around 2.5 million Yen, which is roughly $25,000 in Australia. If this particular car were to come to Australia, it could easily be the cheapest EV in our market.

“That's the cost of the technology. If I landed the eK X EV as a three-star car, it would probably be the cheapest entry-level [electric vehicle] in the market,” Westcott said earlier this year.

“The minute I make it five-star compliant, it bumps the price up and it's no longer an entry-level car," he continued.

In a similar vein, the boss of BYD's local distributor, Luke Todd, said in 2022 the BYD Seagull was not under consideration for Australia, because it would not get a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Similar to the Mitsubishi, BYD's Seagull is a compact electric car with an impressively low asking price. Costing as little as the equivalent of $17,000 in its native China, the Seagull could be one of Australia's cheapest new cars, let alone electric.

“At the moment I would say that we’ve made the commitment that we’re targeting our passenger vehicles that we bring into the country [to have] five-star [ANCAP safety] ratings,” Todd told Drive in 2022.

6. There’s a simple star rating, but it can be difficult to understand

As the years roll on and new technologies are unleashed by car makers, ANCAP’s own testing regimen changes every few years. When buyers of second-hand cars look to assess the safety rating of a vehicle, a simple star rating can become confusing.

Five stars’ worth of ANCAP today doesn’t equal the same thing five years ago, and the constant evolution of standards means a simple star-rating system can become potentially confusing.

Let me explain. It’s fairly safe to assume the Proton Jumbuck – which was tested back in 2008 – is a cut-and-dried result: it’s not a safe vehicle in the event of a crash. However with the ‘five-stars-or-nothing’ mentality that seems to be prevalent, what about something like a Honda HR-V?

Here is a car that got a four-star safety rating in 2022. It’s not five stars, but some might overlook this vehicle as an option even though it’s a mostly positive result.

Furthermore, others might think a five-star rating from 10 years ago is superior to this relatively recent four-star rating, which can be deceiving.

So, what's the solution here? Is there a better path to take than the one we are currently on? Is there a problem at all?

I'm not advocating for us to all return back to 750kg deathtraps, and watching the road toll climb to uncomfortable heights.

It’s also worth noting here that despite all of the recent advancements in vehicle safety, along with a near-draconian focus on speeding fines in some states, Australia has recorded significantly more road deaths.

But perhaps there is a better solution somewhere, in the middle of two extremes. Instead of ANCAP marching onwards with increasingly stringent and demanding standards, we could perhaps look at the advances we have made, and also acknowledge that at some stage, there is a point where the negatives start to weigh noticeably against the positives.

Indeed, there will be a break-even point where safety cannot be materially improved with noticeable or tangible benefit to the end user.

We could also do a lot to remove the stigma around a three-star or four-star car in today's market, and appreciate it for what it is: a vehicle that offers significantly higher levels of safety and protection in comparison to what was offered in years previous.

And if we look at the cold, tragic truth that more people died on Australian roads in the last year since 2012, perhaps trudging down the same path we are currently on isn’t the best way forward.

The post Opinion: We need to talk about the dark side of ANCAP testing appeared first on Drive.