We’re continuing to reveal the finalists in the AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year awards for 2022 – and rapidly getting towards the big reveal of the class winners and overall victor on December 2.
It's crunch time now for the contenders in the AA Safest Car award.
AA Safest Car
The AA Safest Car award stands apart from the rest in the AA DRIVEN COTY. While the other vehicle categories are judged by our panel, the AA Safest Car award comes from Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) data.
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Not that we ignore metrics when it comes to the other categories of course, but when it comes to Safety it’s pure numbers: the vehicle that performs best against ANCAP barriers and safety metrics, accumulating the the most points, is the winner. The results are collated by the expert team at the AA.
So which new models are in the frame? In alphabetical order, first comes a familiar vehicle… from earlier on this page! The Lexus NX is a finalist in the Luxury category above, but it’s also in the running for the safety award. It’s a measure of how advanced the NX’s new platform is, and how comprehensive the new safety technology package has become.
Mercedes-Benz is reknowned for its state-of-the-art safety and the new C-Class maintains the tradition. It’s been launched as a sedan in New Zealand, but the all-new model scores higher than any of the brand’s current SUVs - an impressive achievement. It’s also the second Mercedes among our COTY finalists, following the EQS 53 in the Luxury category.
Our top three is completed by a brand that many might not immediately associate with high ANCAP scores: Tesla and the Model Y. Tesla is known for its high technology and for having different priorities to more established makers, but the fact the new Model Y SUV scores so highly in this industry-standard testing programme underlines that it’s truly a force to be reckoned with compared to “legacy” (as Tesla fans love to call them!) brands.