Toyota Corolla 2018 scores five-star ANCAP safety rating

Toyota's recently-released 12th-generation Corolla small car has been awarded a full Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) five-star safety rating thanks to a strong suite of standard advanced safety systems.

The latest version of Toyota's high-selling Corolla was launched locally earlier this month with included features such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that can detect pedestrians and cyclists, lane-keep assist (LKA) that can automatically correct the vehicle's lane position and adaptive cruise control (ACC).

ANCAP boss James Goodwin praised Toyota for lifting the new Corolla's levels of standard safety.

The Corolla was rated based on four categories of testing – adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection and safety assist.

"The safety improvements provided in this generation of the Corolla are a significant step forward," he said.

"The Corolla is a trusted nameplate and Australia and New Zealand's highest selling passenger car, so it is encouraging to see this affordable, volume-seller continue to achieve a high safety standard."

Based on tests conducted on a right-hand-drive Toyota Corolla hybrid, the rating applies to all five-door hatch variants currently on sale in Australia and New Zealand.

"This result clearly shows safety is not a luxury, with private and corporate fleet buyers able to access high levels of safety as advanced collision prevention technologies become increasingly available," said Mr Goodwin.

As per the ANCAP testing standard, the Corolla was rated based on four categories of testing – adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection and safety assist.

In adult occupant protection, the Japanese hatch managed a 96 per cent score, showing 'good' or 'adequate' in all crash tests.

It was a similar story in child occupant protection with an 83 per cent score, where the Corolla managed full marks in the side impact and child restraint crash tests.

ANCAP boss James Goodwin praised Toyota for lifting the new Corolla's levels of standard safety.

In the vulnerable road user protection, which measures the protection of pedestrians in an accident, the Corolla scored 86 per cent.

Again, ANCAP found 'good' and 'adequate' results, though 'marginal' and 'poor' findings were recorded for the base of the windscreen and windscreen pillars.

The auto emergency braking proved effective at recognising pedestrians and cyclists, in both daylight and night-time conditions, avoiding or mitigating at "almost all" test speeds.

Finally, in the safety assist category, which trials the vehicles onboard advanced safety technology, the car scored 76 per cent.

"Mainstream models, like the Corolla, are now offering advanced speed assistance systems which can read road signs," said Mr Goodwin.

"These systems are the building blocks for automation, and convey the need for vehicle brands, regulators and infrastructure providers to work together to see safety and efficiency benefits realized."

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