Tesla Model Y sets new crash safety benchmark

Extraordinary behind-the-scenes video highlights the impressive safety credentials of the car that scored the highest crash-test result in history.

Tesla’s Model Y has set new benchmarks for crash prevention and occupant protection during independent safety tests.

The electric car firm’s latest model scored a five-star rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), alongside the latest Kia Niro and Genesis GV60.

The Tesla Model Y set a new record for occupant protection in crash tests.

But the Tesla outperformed all rivals in two important areas.

Examining its crash avoidance abilities, ANCAP found the Tesla achieved “an all-time record score of 98 per cent in the Safety Assist pillar”.

And if the worst was to occur, Tesla recorded “the highest Adult Occupant Protection score to date against the latest 2020-2022 rating criteria (97 per cent)”.

Strong protection for the Tesla’s battery pack helps keep passengers safe.

That means it outperformed impressive cars such as the latest Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which scored 91 per cent for adult occupant protection, helped by perfect marks for its performance in a full-width frontal crash.

The result comes almost a decade after Tesla’s first mass-produced car, the Model S, set a new record in testing by America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Tesla Model Y aced ANCAP’s crash tests.

Tesla’s Model 3 set a new record for driver assist technology during ANCAP assessment in 2019, when it scored full points for driver protection in three out of four crash tests.

The safety body was equally impressed by crash prevention features in the new Model Y.

Extraordinary video of the Model Y’s assessment program shows the car automatically braking to prevent collisions with pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles.

The Tesla Model Y is packed with advanced technology.

ANCAP says “maximum points were awarded across the majority of collision avoidance test scenarios”.

The Tesla was also praised for a driver monitoring system that uses live camera footage of the driver to determine whether they are paying attention to the car’s surroundings, a feature likely to become increasingly common in modern vehicles.