ANCAP has awarded a five-star safety rating to the Toyota C-HR, introduced in Australia in March 2024. Based on testing by Euro NCAP of left-hand-drive models, the rating applies to the GXR and Koba variants.
According to ANCAP, the all-hybrid line-up demonstrated solid safety performance assessed against the 2023 to 2025 rating criteria, with the C-HR the first model to be assigned a 2024 date stamp.
“The Toyota C-HR offers a balanced level of protection for occupants and those outside the vehicle, as well as through its active collision avoidance capability, putting it squarely above the five-star threshold for all four areas of ANCAP assessment,” said Carla Hoorweg, Chief Executive Officer of ANCAP.
Strong scores were shown in destructive crash tests, with maximum points achieved for the driver in the oblique pole and side impact tests. Mixed results were shown in the frontal offset (MPDB) test, with good performance recorded for driver and passenger head and upper leg protection, adequate protection for the driver and front passenger lower legs, and marginal protection for the driver’s chest. The MPDB test also assesses the potential risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle if hit by the test vehicle through a ‘compatibility’ assessment, and the C-HR demonstrated a relatively low risk, with a modest 1.69-point penalty (out of eight points) applied.
In the full width frontal test, the Toyota C-HR achieved full points for driver and rear passenger head and neck protection, while a marginal score was recorded for the chest of the driver and rear passenger. The small female dummy in the rear seating position was observed slipping beneath the lap section of the seatbelt in this test – known as submarining – and a four-point penalty was applied.
Good scores were achieved for the child occupant protection in the frontal and side impact tests. The rear seat design and positioning of child restraint anchorages allowed the C-HR to earn maximum points for its ability to safely accommodate the full range of baby capsules, child restraints and booster seats in all rear seating positions.
Following an increase in ANCAP’s five-star score threshold for vulnerable road user protection in 2023 (threshold increased from 60 per cent to 70 per cent), the C-HR achieved a score of 86 per cent. This was boosted by the pedestrian-friendly front bumper design, and its ability to detect and either avoid or mitigate crashes with pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists in a range of on-road emergency braking and lane-keeping scenarios.
The C-HR is fitted with an autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system and lane support system (LSS) capable of detecting and reacting to other road users. Full points were awarded for the C-HR’s car-to-car AEB performance including head-on emergency braking scenarios, and LSS performance.
Driver monitoring, child presence detection and cyclist anti-dooring systems are some of the newer aspects introduced into ANCAP’s 2023-2025 assessment criteria, with the C-HR offering each of these safety systems as standard.
Additionally, the windows and doors of the C-HR remained functional beyond the two-minute requirement if the vehicle was submerged in water.