The Toyota HiAce has secured a 5-star ANCAP safety rating following significant safety upgrades introduced to vehicles built from June 2025.
Re-tested under ANCAP’s latest and most stringent 2025 assessment protocols, the updated HiAce met the higher bar for crash protection and crash avoidance, demonstrating Toyota’s commitment to keeping its popular commercial van competitive and safe.
When first released in 2019, the H30 series HiAce was awarded a 5-star rating under the criteria in place at that time. Six years on, Toyota has enhanced the model with a broader suite of safety features, allowing it to again achieve top marks under the tougher modern standards.
Enhanced Safety Features Drive New Rating
The latest version introduces a centre airbag to reduce occupant-to-occupant injury risk, along with emergency lane keeping, intelligent adaptive cruise control, and advanced speed sign recognition. The autonomous emergency braking system has also been upgraded to respond in junction, crossing, and head-on scenarios, while vulnerable road user protection has been strengthened with detection now extended to motorcyclists as well as pedestrians and cyclists.
These improvements enabled the HiAce to perform strongly in the demanding MPDB frontal offset and far-side impact tests, both introduced to ANCAP assessments in 2020 after the model’s original rating.
Validity and Ongoing Safety Standards
From August 2025, all updated van (two-seat) and crew van (five-seat) variants sold in Australia and New Zealand will carry the 5-star rating, which remains valid until December 2031. However, the HiAce Commuter bus and Minibus variants remain unrated.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said the latest result reflects the purpose of ANCAP’s evolving test criteria. “ANCAP’s test and scoring protocols are intentionally updated every few years to recognise the safety advancements manufacturers are bringing to market, and to encourage ongoing improvement,” she said.
The HiAce recorded solid scores across every category of assessment, reflecting improvements in occupant safety, vulnerable road user protection, and driver assistance technologies. Dual frontal, side chest and head-protecting airbags, a driver knee airbag, and the new centre airbag are standard across all rated variants, alongside advanced driver assistance features including autonomous emergency braking and lane support systems.
While the HiAce van continues to be a workhorse for businesses across the region, Toyota’s latest update ensures that safety remains front and centre for both drivers and other road users.
The full safety report can be found here.
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