The new Honda Accord has earned a disappointing four-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).
The Accord was penalised under ANCAP’s assessment criteria for offering sub-standard protection to the lower legs of the driver.
ANCAP awarded the new Honda Accord 0.38 points out of four in the lower leg region component of the frontal offset crash test, deducting one point for excessive vertical park pedal movement, 0.8 points for excessive rearward park pedal movement, and 0.506 points for a blocked park pedal.
Despite performing well in the side impact and pedestrian crash tests, the Honda’s score of 11.21 points out of 16 in the frontal offset crash test made it ineligible for a five-star ANCAP safety rating. It achieved a total score of 29.21 points out of 37.
ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh labelled the Accord’s result “disappointing”, though praised Honda for equipping the large sedan a number of safety assist technologies including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive lighting and lane support systems.
The four-star result means the Accord, which is priced from $31,490 to $51,990, is humbled by Honda’s entry-level models, the $14,990 Jazz and $16,490 City, which earned the maximum five-star safety rating in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
The Accord joins the likes of the Mini Countryman, Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar XF in failing to achieve a five-star safety rating from ANCAP.
Honda Australia says it is “surprised and disappointed” with the Accord’s four-star ANCAP result.
“The Accord has an impeccable 37-year history and this ninth-generation is no exception,” the company said in a statement.
Asked if Honda would seek to make improvements to the Accord to attain a five-star rating, Honda Australia spokeswoman Melissa Cross offered only: “We’ll have to review the report.”
Meanwhile, the compact Kia Cerato earned five stars, a rating that applies to both the sedan and recently launched hatchback.
The compact Cerato scored 35.51 points out of 37 overall, impressing in all crash test components and offering an ‘acceptable’ pedestrian impact rating.
McIntosh praised Kia for prioritising safety in the new Cerato and other key models in its line-up.
“The five-star rating for the new Kia Cerato rounds off their small, medium and SUV ranges with all current Kia models in these categories now offering five-star safety,” he said.
“This is a great achievement by Kia.”
The Kia Cerato is priced from $19,990 driveaway.
