Five-star safety rating for Audi Q3, BMW 3 Series, SsangYong Korando and Volvo S60/V60

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has handed a maximum five-star crash safety rating for the new Audi Q3, BMW 3 Series, SsangYong Korando and Volvo S60/V60 models this week.

Audi’s just-launched new-generation Q3 scored well in the adult occupant and child occupant protection tests with 95 and 88 per cent respectively, while the vulnerable road user protection examination yielded a 76 per cent result.

As for the safety assist systems, the Q3 netted an 85 per cent score thanks to the standard inclusion of autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist (LKA) and blind-spot monitoring (BSM).

The Q3 score is applicable to the 35 TFSI launch variant, as well as the 2.0-litre 40 TFSI due next year.

BMW’s new-generation 3 Series has likewise scored well on ANCAP testing with 97 per cent in the adult occupant protection test, 77 per cent in the safety assist category, and 87 per cent in both the child occupant and vulnerable road user protection examinations.

The crash rating applies to the 320i, 320d, 330i and 330e sedans, as well as the 330i wagon.

As for the SsangYong Korando, the full five-star crash safety rating is a first for the South Korean brand, with strong scores in both adult occupant (88%) and child occupant (86%) protection.

The safety assist category netted the Korando 72 per cent thanks to a long list of standard safety features including AEB and LKA, but the vulnerable road user protection scored lowest (68%) in testing.

ANCAP chief technical officer Mark Terrell praised SsangYong for its full five-star result.

“This is a positive step from the SsangYong, and both the brand and their Australasian representatives should be proud of their efforts in supplying their first five-star vehicle to our market,” he said.

“Five stars is not only possible, it is the expected standard, and the entry of this model provides fleet and private consumers with an additional choice in the popular and competitive medium SUV segment.”

Though the Korando will launch with just the limited-edition ELX LE and Ultimate LE, the rating applies to the entire full-time range which spans seven variants in petrol and diesel, and front- and all-wheel-drive form.

Finally, the Volvo S60 sedan and V60 wagon pair both scored identically in crash testing, 96, 88, 74 and 77 per cent in adult occupant, child occupant, vulnerable road user and safety assist respectively.