Kia Picanto handed four-star ANCAP safety rating

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has handed the third-generation Kia Picanto a four-star safety rating, while the Mazda CX-5 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet have been given top marks.

Weaker results in the Pedestrian Protection (22.79 out of 42) and Child Occupant Protection (31.59 out of 49) categories impacted the Picanto's overall rating, which applies to all variants on sale from June this year on.

Protection of a struck pedestrian's head (adult and child) was mainly assessed as being 'marginal' or 'weak' across the light car's bonnet, while the A-pillars were found to be stiff, leading to a 'poor' judgement.

Lower leg protection was 'good', but the upper legs and pelvis results were mixed, with 'good' and 'poor' assessments. The autonomous emergency braking system's lack of pedestrian recognition further affected this category's score.

Meanwhile, the frontal offset crash test saw 'weak' protection for the 10-year-old child dummy's neck, as well as a 'marginal' rating for the six-year-old child dummy's chest.

In the side impact crash test, 'poor' chest protection for the 10-year-old was found, while overall protection for the six-year-old was 'good'. A door opening led to a one-point penalty.

In the Adult Occupant Protection category the Picanto scored 33.29 out of a possible 38 points, with strong results returned in the side impact and pole crash tests.

A lack of speed assistance and lane support systems impacted the Safety Assist category's score (5.70 out of 12), but the Kia's included seatbelt reminders and interurban AEB system were scored highly.

Alternatively, the CX-5 and C-Class Cabriolet upped the ante in the Pedestrian Protection category, netting 32.76 and 27.80 out of a possible 42 points respectively.

The Mazda's bonnet provided 'good' or 'adequate' protection for a struck pedestrian's head, while the Mercedes predominately received a 'good' judgement, thanks to its active bonnet.

Lower leg protection was 'good' for both models, while the C-Class offered 'poor' protection at the front of its bonnet, whereas the CX-5's results in the same area were also mainly 'poor'.

Similarly, both models' Child Occupant Protection category scores surged, with 39.36 and 38.80 out of a possible 49 points netted respectively.

For the Cabriolet, the frontal offset test returned 'good' or 'adequate' results for both the six- and ten-year-old dummies, but the side impact test saw 'poor' head protection for the ten-year-old.

Comparatively, both dummies had 'good' protection during the CX-5's side impact test, while the frontal offset test saw mixed results of 'good' (chest, head) and 'bad' (neck) for the 10-year-old, as well as 'marginal' (chest) and 'good' (head, neck) for the six-year-old.

Mazda managed an impressive score in the Adult Occupant Protection category, with 36.48 out of a possible 38 points scored, whereas the Benz mustered a 32.13-point effort. The side impact test was the source of both model's best scores.

Like the Picanto, the CX-5 and C-Class received an average return in the Safety Assist category, awarded 7.11 and 6.43 out of a possible 12 points respectively.

Seatbelt reminders for both models led to maximum points, but neither pack a standard lane support system that would have added up to three points to their tallies.

ANCAP's five-star rating applies to all CX-5 variants, but only to the C200 and C300 model grades from the four-tier C-Class Cabriolet range. Ratings are valid from April 2017 and October 2016 respectively.

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