ANCAP, Australasia's independent authority on vehicle safety, has commended the safety specification and safety performance of the newly released Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Mazda 6 and Lexus ES300h – all achieving 5 star ANCAP safety ratings.

Assessed against the latest safety standards now in play across both the Australasian and European markets, each of the vehicles achieved strong scores in all key safety areas.

"The new A-Class offers excellent all-round safety performance," said ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin.

"It has achieved the highest Vulnerable Road User Protection rating to date with a score of 92 per cent, and has equalled the highest Child Occupant Protection rating scoring 91 per cent."

"Side chest-protecting airbags also extend to the rear seats as a standard feature on Australasian models, where it is offered as an option to European consumers," he said.

"The Mazda 6 performed well for its protection of adult and child occupants however some concerns were noted for smaller occupants seated in the rear, where the pelvis of the dummy slipped beneath the lap section of the seatbelt in the full width test – known as submarining – and a penalty was applied."

"The autonomous emergency braking capability of the Lexus ES300h was its standout feature with full points scored for its ability to detect and avoid pedestrians in all test scenarios at day and night. Strong performance was also recorded for its cyclist-detection capability," Mr Goodwin added.

A penalty was also applied to the Lexus for submarining of the rear occupant in the full width frontal test.

Five star ANCAP safety ratings apply to all variants of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (August 2018 onwards), Mazda 6 (June 2018 onwards) and the Lexus ES300h (September 2018 onwards).