Strong test rating makes new model the sector’s crash test champion.

HIGH praise for the new one-tonne ute co-developed by Isuzu and Mazda has come from the independent safety agency most relevant to New Zealand.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, better known as ANCAP, is a New Zealand-funded crash test operation based in Australia.

The organisation has determined the Isuzu D-Max, which is about to release on sale here and will soon after provision as the Mazda BT-50, to be the one-tonne sector’s safety benchmark.

This results from it becoming the first ute to score a full five-star ANCAP rating to 2020 standards, which introduce more stringent measurements of safety than have previously applied.

The vehicle safety authority, whose primary backers on this side of the Tasman are the New Zealand Government and the Automobile Association, is satisfied the score applies to all variants of the new model.

According to ANCAP, the D-Max is the “safety benchmark for the competitive ute segment.”

“Our 2020 requirements again set the bar higher to promote further vehicle safety improvements and address some of the ongoing challenges on our roads,” ANCAP director of communications and advocacy, Rhianne Robson, says in a release.

The score reinforces the merit of the Isuzu Intelligent Driver Assistance System (IDAS), which is fitted across the range.

This uses a Hitachi-supplied twin-camera system mounted high on the windscreen and is critical for forward collision warning, AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection and turn assist, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning and automatic steering assist.

It also traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and emergency lane keeping, among further features.

On top of technology systems, Isuzu D-Max is also the first ute in the world to fit a front-row centre airbag as standard for added occupant protection and bringing the total number of airbags to eight.

Says Robson: “With the new challenges set by ANCAP from 2020, it is extremely pleasing to see manufacturers achieve good results against these increasing standards, and take responsibility by prioritising safety to provide their customers with the safest vehicles they can.”

The make’s national distributor has welcomed the score, which Conceivably puts the model above even other other utes that have achieved five star status, as their scores were decided under less stringent circumstances.

The previous D-Max was a less satisfactory performer in ANCAP testing.

However Isuzu Utes New Zealand general manager Sam Waller believes customers can “reassuringly drive away knowing this D-Max is equipped with cutting-edge safety systems to keep them out of trouble at a moment’s notice.

“Given double cab utes are proving a popular family vehicle, receiving one of the highest scores awarded by ANCAP for Child Occupant Protection will no doubt be very comforting for families.”

The score’s release comes in the same week of the distributor releasing the new line’s pricing, which brings a steep increase over the outgoing editions’ positioning, with $8000 to $10000 added to stickers when recommended retails are compared, and the gap widening significantly more when the special runout tags attached to the old model are considered.

Isuzu Utes NZ has yet to respond to an invitation to discuss the pricing, which elevates what was previously the sector’s budget buy into the same premium sector as the popular Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger, albeit with more safety equipment than those rivals pack.