The Lexus RX The range – which includes the RX350 petrol and RX350h and RX500h hybrids – has received a five-star safety rating from ANCAP under the 2020-22 test protocol.
It received an adult occupant protection rating of 90 percent, a child occupant protection rating of 89 percent, a vulnerable road user protection rating of 89 percent, and a safety assistance rating of 93 percent.
ANCAP said 89 per cent for the protection of vulnerable road users was the highest on record.
The safety assistance category, which includes features such as autonomous emergency braking and lane keeping assist, saw an overall Good rating.
Driver chest protection in the front offset test was rated Marginal and lower leg protection Adequate, although a Good rating was recorded overall for the front passenger in the same test.
In the diagonal pillar and full-width front tests, the driver’s chest protection was also rated Adequate.
Although the RX is fitted with a central airbag to reduce occupant-to-occupant interaction in side impacts, ANCAP notes “additional information to show that performance is robust and symmetrical is not provided and a penalty of 1.00 points has been applied”.
However, safety authorities say it provides head protection for both front-seat occupants, and prevention of passenger movement towards the other side of the vehicle in far-side impact tests rated as Good in the vehicle-to-vehicle impact scenario and Adequate in the vehicle-to-pillar scenario .
“The Lexus RX is another of our top performers – achieving high marks across all key assessment areas resulting in a five-star ANCAP safety rating,” said ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg.
Standard safety equipment in the RX includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Intersection collision avoidance support
- Emergency steering assist
- Lane-departure warning
- Lane Detection Assist (lane center)
- Blind spot monitoring
- Rear cross traffic warning
- Driver fatigue monitoring
Some models also include a surround view camera.
Although the RX450h+ plug-in hybrid has yet to go on sale in Australia, ANCAP authority Euro NCAP has awarded it five stars and a similar category score.
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