Latest ANCAP ratings: Five stars for Subaru Forester, Polestar 4, but four for Hyundai Inster

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has published its latest round of crash test results.

Five-star safety ratings have been given to the new-generation Subaru Forester and Polestar 4, while the new Hyundai Inster received a four-star rating.

The Subaru Forester was given an 83 per cent adult occupant protection rating and 91 per cent child occupant protection rating.

Protection for vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists) carries an 86 per cent score, and the Forester’s safety systems were given a 75 per cent score.

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The Forester received ‘good’ or ‘adequate’ protection ratings across most adult and child test scenarios, but was only able to achieve a ‘weak’ rating for rear adult passenger chest protection.

The Forester also had marks deducted for a centre airbag that was not symmetrical and provided reduced protection on the passenger side.

The Forester’s pedestrian head protection also recorded marginal and poor performance around the windscreen pillars and base of the windscreen, with good or adequate protection provided elsewhere.

While still tested to current assessment criteria, the Forester carries a 2024 time stamp for its results, aligning with its original Euro NCAP test date, despite recording slightly higher child occupant and safety assist scores in Australia.

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The Polestar 4 also carries a five-star rating, thanks to a 92 per cent adult occupant score, 97 per cent child occupant score, 81 per cent vulnerable road user protection score, and a 79 per cent safety assist score.

Frontal and side impact tests yield good or adequate results for both adults and children.

Vulnerable road user protection saw marginal and poor performance around the windscreen pillars and base of the windscreen were recorded, along with areas of weak pelvis protection.

The Polstar 4’s ANCAP result carries a 2025 time stamp.

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The Hyundai Inster fell short of achieving a five-star result in two key areas.

ANCAP’s five-star cut-off requires a score of 80 per cent or higher for adult and child occupant protection, and 70 per cent or above for vulnerable road user protection and safety assist systems.

The Hyundai Inster scored 70 per cent for adult occupant protection, 83 per cent for child occupant protection, 70 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 69 per cent for safety assist systems.

The 70 per cent adult occupant protection just makes the grade for a four-star score, any lower and the Inster would have been recorded as a three-star rating (which requires 60-70 per cent).

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The Inster recorded marginal protection ratings for the driver’s chest and lower legs in the frontal offset test, and marginal chest protection of the driver and front passenger chest in the full width frontal test.

The driver’s airbag did not fully prevent the head from contacting the steering wheel, with a penalty applied.

Marginal protection was also recorded for the chest of the driver in the oblique pole test.

Child occupant protection was rated as either good or adequate in most areas, but the side impact test resulted in a poor protection rating for the chest of the 10-year-old dummy.

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The driver’s door was unlatched in side impact testing, and a penalty was applied.

Pedestrian protection was rated as poor or marginal for the base of the windscreen and windscreen pillars, and protection of the pelvis was also given a poor rating.

Safety assist systems returned poor results in the vehicle crossing/T-bone section, with no points awarded due to the AEB system not responding.

ANCAP also awarded no safety assist scores for AEB backover protection, and rear seat child presence detection, due to a lack of both technologies.

The Hyundai Insters results carry a 2025 timestamp.

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