The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has handed down three new results as part of its latest new car safety testing, with two five-star ratings for the IM 5 and IM 6 – part of MG’s new premium IM range – and a three-star rating for the new Renault Duster.

The IM 6 electric mid-size SUV achieved a five-star ANCAP safety rating, performing strongly in all crash tests, according to ANCAP. It achieved one of the highest frontal offset (MPDB) test scores to date under current ANCAP protocols (7.54 points out of 8.00).

Its IM 5 sedan sibling delivered an equally confident result, earning a five-star rating across all variants. In frontal and side impact testing, the IM 5 maintained a stable passenger cell and provided solid protection to adult occupants. Families will note its 91 per cent Child Occupant Protection result, with child dummies well protected in both frontal and side collisions.

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The IM 5 demonstrated similar collision avoidance capabilities to its SUV sibling, with both models impressing in their ability to reliably respond to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists in both autonomous emergency braking (AEB) straight-line and turning scenarios.

“The safety ratings for the premium IM 5 and IM 6 demonstrate MG’s ability to deliver vehicle safety at a high level. It’s encouraging to see this level of performance, and we hope to see these features carried across the broader MG range,” ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said.

However, the Renault Duster enters the Australian market with a three-star ANCAP safety rating, based on Euro NCAP testing. Full points were awarded for protection of the driver in the oblique pole crash test, and for the driver and child passengers in the side impact test. The frontal offset and full width tests delivered more mixed results, including weak protection of the driver’s chest in the MPDB test.

While fitted with an autonomous emergency braking system, this was shown to be less effective in more advanced test scenarios, such as in turning or head-on scenarios, and at higher speeds. The Renault Duster does not respond to an overtaking or oncoming vehicle in emergency lane-keeping scenarios. These limitations contributed to scores of 60 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection and 58 per cent for Safety Assist – the latter limiting its overall rating to three stars.