Big or small, luxury or standard the latest release of 5 star ANCAP safety ratings show consumer choice for buying a safe vehicle is at an all-time high.

The small Holden Spark, Skoda Superb, Jaguar XF and Kia QL Sportage were all released in 2016 and achieved the highest ANCAP safety rating.

“The Spark, Superb and Sportage are all up there with the Jaguar XF in terms of safety technologies offered across each of their ranges, which is fantastic news for middle New Zealand who can now expect many of the same life-saving technologies at lower price points in the market,” says Ms Stocks.

All four models boast a suite of advanced crash avoidance technologies as standard including Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which helps the driver stay in control of the vehicle in the event of a slide or swerve and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) which helps to prevent nose to tail crashes.

“While there are plenty of SUVs and large cars with a 5 star safety ratings it’s great to see an increase in smaller cars achieving the honour. It helps to raise expectations of what a small car can achieve and I’m pleased to see manufacturers using occupant safety to their competitive advantage,” says Ms Stocks.

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.

The full list of ANCAP’s vehicle safety ratings, other vehicle safety information and the specifications of the rated vehicles are available online at the AA or NZTA websites.