ANCAP hands five stars to HiAce and Leaf, Wrangler still stuck with one

Australia’s crash-testing body ANCAP has released the latest round of safety testing with the all-new Toyota HiAce and Nissan Leaf earning five stars, yet the Jeep Wrangler has earned only one star. 

Australia’s top-selling van, the HiAce, achieved 94 per cent for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 77 per cent for safety assist. 

The second-generation Nissan Leaf scored well, too, with a 93 per cent adult occupant protection score, plus 85 per cent for child occupant protection, 71 per cent vulnerable road user protection and 70 per cent for safety assist.

The Jeep Wrangler, on the other hand, scored just 50 per cent for adult occupant projection, 49 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and just 32 per cent for safety assist.

From launch, the Wrangler is only equipped with auto emergency braking (AEB) and blind-spot monitoring on the top two models, though Jeep will add both features to the entry-level Sport S “towards the back end of 2019,” according to Jeep Australia boss Steve Zanlunghi.

The second-generation Nissan Leaf earned a full five-star ANCAP rating. (image credit: Tom White)

Beyond all of this, the Australian model lacks curtain airbags and is fundamentally challenged by having a fold-down windscreen and removable doors. 

“The safety performance of the Wrangler is limited, falling well shy of the expected standard in three of the four key areas of assessment” said ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin.

 “Chest protection was a concern for the driver and rear passenger in each of the frontal crash tests, a number of penalties were applied for structural deformation and potential leg injury hazards, and base variants lack autonomous emergency braking altogether,” Mr Goodwin said.

The incoming Toyota HiAce also earned a full five star rating.

The outgoing JK Wrangler had a four-star rating but only on petrol V6 models produced from 2012 onwards - models dating back to 2007 were not rated. 

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