Hyundai Staria rated ANCAP's safest van

Friday, 18 February 2022

The Hyundai Staria is the 2021 Stuff Top Car for work.

ANCAP has released its updated ‘Commercial Van Safety Comparison’ report, including analysis of the LDV Deliver 9 and Hyundai Staria Load as well as revised assessments of the Mercedes-Benz Vito and Iveco Daily.

It found that the Staria Load is the safest work van on the market, coming with a five-star safety rating from the testing outfit in both people-mover and commercial Load trim.

“This is a highly-anticipated result for fleets, and a significant step forward from the previous generation vehicle that the Staria Load replaces,” said ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg when the Staria got its rating.

The Hyundai Staria’s healthy ADAS systems have put it at the top of ANCAP’s safety ratings for vans.

“For so many small businesses and tradespeople their vehicle is their workplace.

**READ MORE:

The new rating puts the Staria above the Toyota Hiace and Ford Transit.

* Top Car for work: Hyundai Staria

* Road Test Review: Hyundai Staria Load

The Renault Trafic and mechanically identical Mitsubishi Express are still classed as ‘Not Recommended’.

* Van safety put to the test, the results are rough

“By providing the full suite of available safety specifications in the Staria Load, Hyundai has shown strong commitment to the safety of Australian and New Zealand road users and we expect this five-star result will be well-received by fleets and commercial buyers.”

In the updated report, the Staria Load scored the first-ever ‘Platinum’ rating for its ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) suite, beating the Gold-rated Toyota Hiace, Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Vito.

The latter was elevated from Bronze to Gold through the standard inclusion of car, pedestrian and cyclist-detecting autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring systems.

Meanwhile, the LDV Deliver 9 and updated Iveco Daily only scored ‘Bronze’ ratings, putting them behind the rest of the medium/large van market, except for the ‘Not Recommended’ Renault Trafic, Mitsubishi Express and Renault Master, which have not been updated since the last comparison.

The rating did elevate the Daily from ‘Not Recommended’ to Bronze, however, thanks to autonomous emergency braking, a driver monitoring system and seat belt reminders as standard.

“This analysis provides added value to fleet and commercial van operators as it extends beyond ANCAP’s traditional star rating program to shine a light on the active safety performance of an important segment,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg, regarding the updated comparison.

“Vans are a workplace. Their increased on-road exposure and frequent use in built-up urban areas means they interact with a large number of other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. It is essential that fleet and van operators are aware of the crash avoidance capabilities and active safety features fitted to their vehicles.”