Subaru Outback takes home five stars in ANCAP safety test

The 2021 Subaru Outback has passed the ANCAP safety test with flying colours, being allocated the full five-star safety rating.

Released earlier this year, the sixth-generation off-roading wagon carries on from the history of its predecessors by achieving a five-star rating, with the independent vehicle safety authority praising its host of tech systems in particular.

Out of a possible 16 points, Subaru's EyeSight system scored 15.40 points for its collision prevention capabilities – only just missing out on a 100 per cent rating due to its speed assistance systems (2.65/3) and car-to-car autonomous emergency braking (3.75/4).

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Although it just falls short of full marks, its 96 per cent rating for its safety assistance systems remains higher than any other vehicle in the class by seven per cent – while also scoring 91 per cent for child occupant protection, 88 per cent for adults and 84 per cent in the vulnerable road user category.

According to ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg, these results are the best yet under the authority's testing regime.

“The Subaru Outback has comprehensively impressed, achieving the highest scores we’ve seen so far when testing to our current protocols,” said Hoorweg.

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ANCAP also noted the Outback's driver monitoring system is an encouraging standard feature, which keeps a close watch on the driver's state of alertness through eye movement and steering inputs to determine whether they are paying attention behind the wheel.

Perhaps the biggest blemish on the Outback's record is its AEB systems for pedestrians behind the vehicle – either stationary or walking – with the system not activating in either scenario, leading to a poor rating.

Since going on sale in January this year, Subaru has sold 6097 units of the 2021 Outback with a 7.8 per cent market share, third in the class of large SUVs behind the Toyota LandCruiser Prado and Isuzu MU-X – both of which scored five-star ratings when last tested in 2013.

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