The all-electric Cupra Tavascan has earned a four-star ANCAP safety rating following a series of crash and safety tests.
The electric SUV impressed with strong scores in several areas, particularly in Adult Occupant Protection, where it achieved 89 per cent. ANCAP noted the Tavascan provided Good protection in most crash scenarios.
In the frontal offset test, both driver and passenger had Good protection for most body parts, though the dashboard posed a risk to the upper legs. This led to an Adequate rating for the driver’s upper legs and a Marginal score for the passenger’s.
Strong Side Impact and Centre Airbag Performance
In the side impact test, the Tavascan scored top marks, offering Good protection for all vital body parts. It also performed well in the oblique pole test, with Good results for most body regions and Adequate chest protection.
The vehicle is equipped with a centre airbag between the front seats to help in far side crashes. It gave Good protection overall, though the movement of the driver in the vehicle-to-pole test was marked as Marginal.
High Scores for Child Safety
For child safety, the Tavascan earned an 87 per cent score in the Child Occupant Protection pillar. It received full points for protecting child dummies in both frontal and side crash tests.
“Crash protection is a fundamental element of every ANCAP safety rating, and the Cupra Tavascan performed well in these areas with strong structural performance,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg.
Good Pedestrian Protection, But Lacking in Some Areas
In tests for Vulnerable Road User Protection, which checks how well the vehicle protects pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, the Tavascan scored 80 per cent. Its autonomous emergency braking system worked well in most situations, but it does not detect pedestrians while reversing. The vehicle also includes an anti-dooring alert for cyclists, but the warning came too late in tests and was rated Poor.
One major drawback that impacted the overall score was the lack of advanced speed assistance features. Unlike the European model, Australian versions of the Tavascan do not include intelligent speed assistance or speed limit recognition. This lowered the Safety Assist score to 67 per cent, below the 70 per cent required for a five-star rating.
“While some improved performance across the Safety Assist pillar could have enhanced its score, the absence of an advanced speed assistance system primarily contributed to this four-star result,” said Ms Hoorweg.
“Speed sign recognition and an intelligent speed limiter are standard in European models but have not been made available to current Australian Tavascan buyers.”
“The Tavascan performed well in each of the other areas of assessment, and we encourage Cupra to consider an update to Australian vehicles to elevate it to the five-star level of its European equivalents,” Ms Hoorweg added.
The ANCAP rating applies to all variants of the Cupra Tavascan sold in Australia from April 2025 and is valid until December 2030.
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