Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 get five-star ANCAP scores in New Zealand

The Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 have been rated five stars by ANCAP – though this is for NZ variants only and may not directly translate to five-star five-seaters in Australia.

Volkswagen is yet to confirm the specific grades of ID.4 and ID.5 for Australia beyond last week's GTX confirmation, though the NZ ratings apply to Pro and Pro+ variants.

The two medium SUVs were rated five stars under ANCAP’s partner program (meaning the two vehicles are considered similar enough to share a rating) under the 2020-2022 protocol – though Australian variants will need a few tweaks if VW wants to hit high sales numbers.

VW’s EVs were off to a strong start, scoring highly in adult occupant protection (93 per cent) and child occupant protection (89 per cent) tests.

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In a twist reminiscent of the Honda HR-V and BYD Atto 3’s ANCAP snags, the ID.4 and ID.5 variants headed to New Zealand have no top tether restraint for the centre seat.

A top tether for the centre seat has been a long-standing requirement for a five-seat passenger vehicle in Australia, though laws over the pond allow the ID.4 and ID.5 to be certified as five-seaters.

Another anomaly picked up by ANCAP was a lack of camera for speed sign recognition on NZ-market ID.4s and ID.5s. This led to a 76 per cent safety score for New Zealand variants – much lower than the Euro NCAP score of 85 per cent.

“It is good to see Volkswagen’s new ID models arrive into New Zealand with five-star ANCAP safety ratings”, said CEO Carl Hoorweg, adding that ANCAP would “encourage Volkswagen to consider including speed limit information functionality in future upgrades, to ensure all buyers are provided with the same level of safety specification as offered in the European market”.