Mitsubishi's new Eclipse Cross SUV arrives in showrooms with the top 5-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.
The Eclipse did well across the crash tests, scoring one of the highest scores for adult occupant protection in its class.
AA Motoring Services general manager Stella Stocks said it was fantastic to see Mitsubishi creating mid-range vehicles that rivaled some of the more expensive models in terms of safety.
"It shows that price isn't indicative of a vehicle's safety and that there are plenty of options for Kiwi drivers looking for safe vehicles at every price point," she said.
The Eclipse also came equipped with a wide range of safety assist technologies, which helped to prevent crashes, including all three gadfes of autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and electronic stability control.
A full list of ANCAP's vehicle safety ratings, other vehicle safety information and the specifications of the rate vehicles are at ancap.co.nz or rightcar.govt.nz.
The Eclipse comes with a new 1.5 litre turbo engine, a new eight-speed CVT automatic gearbox, and high-level specifications including a touch-pad 'controller' to operate on-screen functions.
The first two-wheel-drive models will be in showrooms this month, while the all-wheel-drive models will arrive early next year.
The two-wheel-drive models will sell for $41,690 and $45,590, while prices for the all-wheel-drive models have yet to be announced.
More details about the Eclipse Cross here.