The growing market of 5 star rated cars has been added to with the latest release of vehicle safety ratings giving safety conscious buyers plenty more options to choose from.

In the newest round of Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) ratings the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet and the popular Mazda CX-5 both achieved a full 5 star.

The Kia Picanto was limited to 4 stars due to lower scores for pedestrian and child occupant protection.

AA Motoring Services General Manager Stella Stocks says there is a huge range of choices for buyers looking for a safe car, but the challenge is finding the information.

Ahead of the general election on 23 September, the AA is calling for vehicle safety information to be provided at point of sale, similar to fuel economy information already available.

“Manufacturers have lifted the safety game when it comes to vehicle safety and should be proud to display their ratings at dealerships across the country,” she says.

The 5 star rating for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet applies to all two wheel drive C200 and C300 variants built from October 2016 onwards and all variants of the Mazda CX-5 built from April 2017 onwards. The rating for the Kia Picanto applies to all New Zealand variants built from May 2017 onwards.

All three vehicles come with a good range of safety assist technologies as standard including city and interurban grades of autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

While blind spot monitoring (BSM) comes as a standard feature in Australian variants of the Mazda CX-5, it’s not available on the base variant (Mazda CX-5 GLX) in New Zealand, but is available on higher spec models.

“It’s unclear why the feature was not included as standard in New Zealand, but we would like to see manufacturers offer New Zealand drivers the same degree of crash prevention technologies as standard that Australian and often European drivers receive,” says Ms Stocks.

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.