The brand-new Cupra Terramar has hit the roads in Australia and New Zealand with a top five-star safety rating from ANCAP, following strong performance in a wide range of crash tests and safety feature assessments.
Introduced in New Zealand in April and arriving in Australia in July 2025, the medium SUV earned high scores in Adult Occupant Protection (89 per cent), Child Occupant Protection (87 per cent), Vulnerable Road User Protection (82 per cent), and Safety Assist (78 per cent).
“The Cupra Terramar offers a well-rounded package of occupant protection and crash prevention,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg.
Strong Crash Test Results Across the Board
In the physical crash tests, the Terramar performed especially well. It earned maximum points for driver protection in both full width frontal and side impact tests. Child occupant safety also scored highly, with full marks awarded in frontal offset and side impact tests.
ANCAP noted only one area of marginal protection—chest protection for an adult seated in the second row during the full width frontal test.
Safety Tech Included
The Terramar features a comprehensive suite of safety technology as standard across all variants. Its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system performed well in all forward tests, including car-to-car, car-to-pedestrian, and car-to-cyclist scenarios, even during complex turning situations at junctions.
However, ANCAP pointed out that the vehicle does not include AEB Backover functionality, meaning the system does not activate when reversing.
Other standard features include:
- Dual frontal, side chest, and side head airbags
- Centre airbag for front occupants
- Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Emergency Lane Keeping (ELK), and Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
- Intelligent speed assistance with traffic sign recognition
Australian and NZ Models Have Slight Differences
While the five-star rating applies to all petrol, diesel, and hybrid front- and all-wheel-drive variants in both countries, ANCAP noted that safety equipment differs slightly between Australia and New Zealand.
Vehicles sold in Australia come standard with:
- Blind spot monitoring
- Cyclist anti-dooring alert
- Intelligent adaptive cruise control
These features are not standard on all models in New Zealand.
In addition, New Zealand models do not include a top tether anchor for the centre seat in the second row, making that seat unsuitable for installing child restraints. This limitation affects families needing flexibility in seating arrangements for young passengers.
“Those looking to purchase the Terramar in New Zealand should just be aware that there are slight differences in the safety specification of NZ models,” Ms Hoorweg said.
The ANCAP safety rating for the Cupra Terramar is valid through December 2031 and applies to all variants built from November 2024 onwards.
The full safety report for the Cupra Terramar can be found here.
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