The Safety category in the AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year awards is a little different to others.
While the specific categories are judged by our panel and the finalists determined by a combination of expert analysis and loud arguments, there’s really only one way to judge safety: hard data.
Safety is important in any category, of course: a five-star rating is a must for any vehicle even to be considered for COTY. But for the specific Safety award we’ve identified the top cars tested by independent authority Ancap during 2021, to ensure the test protocols are evenly matched.
Ancap awards points not just for crash protection, although that remains key to its methodology, but also for vehicle equipment including active and passive features.
For any vehicle to reach the podium, it must therefore boast state-of-the-art construction and the very latest technology.
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Our three finalists are (in alphabetical order): the Seat Leon Sportstourer, Subaru Outback and Toyota Highlander.
Spanish brand Seat is a relative newcomer to NZ, but has rapidly gained a reputation for excellence at affordable prices. The Sportstourer (wagon) is cited specifically as that’s the only Seat Leon body shape offered in NZ; the closely related Cupra Leon hatch/Sportstourer models also perform very well in Ancap testing, but don’t quite match the more mainstream Seat version.
Subaru’s Outback is one of the original “crossover” SUVs and has always offered exceptional all-round performance. For the latest model launched earlier this year, that extends to Ancap testing, where it has emerged as one of the safest vehicles tested this year.
And the new Toyota Highlander continues to feature strongly in our COTY categories. The family-sized SUV scored impressive marks with Ancap this year, the high ratings applying equally to the V6 petrol and four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid models. A wide range of technology designed to avoid collisions played a large part in its impressive scores.
