Consumers expecting to pay big bucks for the latest safety technologies will find their dollar goes further with the affordable 2015 Kia Optima, which has just been awarded a 5 star ANCAP safety rating.

The sedan comes equipped with a raft of safety technologies as standard including all three grades of Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Antilock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) just to name a few. 

AA Motoring Services General Manager Stella Stocks says the Optima has an impressive array of crash prevention technologies rarely found in a mid-range car.

“It’s fantastic to see manufacturers like Kia equipping vehicles with some of the latest safety technologies and selling them at a price that is affordable for middle New Zealand,” says Ms Stocks.

“Unfortunately speed assistance systems which help drivers manage their speed are only available on European variants of the model. No one can deny that Kia has outdone itself with the long list of standard safety technologies for its price point, but New Zealand buyers should be given the same consideration as their European counterparts.” 

The 2015 Suzuki Vitara, which also achieved a 5 star rating, leaves out Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) for its New Zealand buyers, making it available only to European consumers of all front-wheel drive versions excluding turbo variants for which the 5 star safety rating applies. Other versions of the Vitara are unrated.

It performed well in the crash tests and comes with a good number of safety assist technologies including Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) as well as reversing collision avoidance and a manual speed limiter.   

The existing 5 star ANCAP safety rating on the Jeep Cherokee has been extended to all 4 cylinder variants. This rating previously applied to two litre diesel AWD variants only.

The full list of ANCAP’s vehicle safety ratings, other vehicle safety information and the specifications of the rated vehicles are available online at ancap.co.nz or rightcar.govt.nz.

ANCAP is supported by all Australian motoring clubs, the New Zealand Automobile Association, the Australian Government, the New Zealand Government, Australian state and territory governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, NRMA Insurance and the FIA Foundation.