The Safety award stands apart from the rest of the categories in the AA DRIVEN NZ COTY. While the other vehicle segment are judged by our panel, the Safest Car award comes from Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) data.
Not that we ignore metrics when it comes to the other categories of course, but when it comes to Safety, it really is pure numbers that determines the outcome.
The vehicle that performs best against ANCAP barriers, safety metrics and driver-assistance technology, accumulating the most points, is the winner. The results are collated by the expert team at the AA.
So which models are in the frame? Incredibly, two vehicles from one brand are included in the top: the Lexus NX and Lexus RX SUVs.
The other is a familiar face: the Tesla Model Y, which is a past winner of the Safest Car award.
Which will win? Find out next week.