Toyota’s commitment to achieving the highest safety standards is yielding excellent results with both the new Auris and RAV4 being awarded the top five-star rating by the independent testing organisation Euro NCAP. They are among the first models to reach the standard under the tougher test criteria introduced for 2013.
Auris
Launched in SA at the beginning of this year, the Auris maintains Toyota’s reputation for delivering high standards of passive and active safety. It is the first compact/family hatchback to gain Euro NCAP’s five-star rating under the more stringent 2013 testing programme.
As standard, Auris is equipped with ABS with EBD and brake assist as well as a full complement of airbags including driver, front passenger and side airbags. Selected models include Vehicle Stability Control, curtain airbags and a driver’s knee airbag as part of the standard package.
In the event of an impact, Auris’s bodyshell has been engineered to absorb and channel energy forces away from the cabin. Around the front end of the car there is also a series of design features that help reduce the risk of injury to pedestrians, while maintaining a low, stylish bonnet line.
The Toyota’s five-star rating was gained with scores of 92 per cent for adult occupant protection, 84 per cent for child occupant protection, 68 per cent for pedestrian protection and 66 per cent for safety assist features.
RAV4
The new, fourth generation Toyota RAV4 is the first SUV to gain a five-star rating under Euro NCAP’s 2013 test programme, its safety performance building on the achievements of its predecessors. (The new RAV4 went on sale locally in April of this year.)
This model has an impact-absorbing, multi-load path body construction that helps safeguard occupants in the event of a collision. It goes beyond the provisions of the previous model with a new seat design that helps reduce the risk of whiplash injury. Across the range ABS with EBD and brake assist as well as Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) is standard. There is also a comprehensive suite of standard passive safety kit comprising no fewer than seven airbags, including driver and passenger front airbags, a knee airbag for the driver, twin-chamber front side airbags and curtain shield airbags.
The car tested was a mid-grade 2.2 D-4D diesel all-wheel drive model (equivalent to an SA-spec 2.2 D-4D GX). It scored 89 per cent for adult occupant protection, 82 per cent for child occupant protection, 66 per cent for pedestrian protection and 66 per cent for safety assist features.
