Curtain-call!

AUSTRALIAN road safety groups and leading motoring organisations have called for car manufacturers to fit head-protecting curtain airbags as standard equipment.

The call comes after a Toyota Kluger four-wheel drive wagon, fitted with side and curtain airbags, achieved four out of a possible five stars in the latest side-impact crash tests conducted by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

The Kluger is one of only a handful of 4WDs available with curtain airbags, although the device is restricted to high-series models.

The case for stronger lobbying of car companies to make curtain airbags standard was strong, according to RACV chief engineer Michael Case.

Occupants were more likely to die, or suffer brain injuries, from a side impact without curtain airbags while the chances of fatal or serious head injuries were halved with them, he said.

"We’d really like to see all cars have that kind of head protection as standard, or if that’s not possible for it to be at least available as an affordable option on lower-level models," he said.

"I think we’ve still got a long way to go before we see it available in all vehicles though." The key sticking point currently is that curtain airbags tend to be standard only on high-end and luxury 4WDs.

They are standard on Ford’s Territory Ghia and TS but are an $800 option on the TX model variant. The Kluger CVX tested had them as part of an optional safety pack but they are currently unavailable on the base CV model.

To step up to the CVX model costs an extra $7500 and the safety pack costs an extra $2500, although it also includes a range of luxury features and other safety features including traction control and vehicle stability control.

The curtain airbags in both the Territory and Kluger also cover third-row passengers.

The latest ANCAP results supplement recent European NCAP crash data for a range of vehicles sold here, including the new Toyota Yaris and Mazda6.

The Yaris scored five stars for occupant protection, while the Mazda6 achieved four stars.

Mr Case said the Kluger was chosen for testing as it was one of the most popular off-roaders sold in Australia. The findings would also expand ANCAP’s crash data on 4WDs, he said.

Currently ANCAP has side-impact crash information on the Subaru Outback, which achieved a five-star rating last year.

Apart from the Outback and Kluger, the program plans to include data on other high-riding vehicles. Early next year, ANCAP will conduct a side test on a Ford Territory.

Mr Case said that because of the high cost of testing, commonly about $150,000 per vehicle, ANCAP uses Euro NCAP test results where appropriate. The testing protocols are similar.

Mr Case believes side and curtain airbags will continue to become more widely available as the technology becomes less costly and the safety message gains currency among new-car buyers.

The next step for ANCAP testing was to focus on rollover accidents, he said.

"We’ve got the budget to do it and intent to do it – it’s really a matter of what test to apply," Mr Case said.

Currently, ANCAP is looking at adapting the United States NCAP rollover test.

In March, ANCAP will release the latest crash data on the most popular utilities.

Mr Case said assessing utilities was a complicated market segment because of the variety of vehicles available and their respective drivetrain configurations.

In crash tests of utilities conducted several years ago, the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon ute each managed four stars while others did not fare well.

ANCAP is supported by VicRoads, the Transport Accident Commission, the RACV and other motoring organisations.