How safe is the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series? Nissan Patrol and Land Rover Defender Rival Receives Top Safety Ratings, Except GR Sport

The LandCruiser 300 Series received a five-star crash safety rating.

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series is already a huge success with buyers and off-road enthusiasts, and now it can claim some extra safety credibility.

Toyota's large SUV has just received a five-star accident rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

Curiously, while the LandCruiser 300 Series GX, GXL, VX, and Sahara models are top notch, the flagship GR Sport is not.

A spokesman for ANCAP stated that the GR Sport is classified without a rating and that no evidence has been provided to the safety oversight body to allow the rating to be extended to the GR Sport variants.

The spokesperson added: “Once a rating has been assigned, a manufacturer may attempt to extend that rating to additional options. This process requires the manufacturer to submit the required technical information to ANCAP for consideration.”

Cars Guide contacted Toyota to clarify this.

The LandCruiser 300 Series is the first vehicle to receive test results in 2022, and ANCAP said the large SUV received the second-highest score to date for protecting vulnerable road users under stringent test protocols for 2020-2022, recording 81 percent .

It performed well in autonomous emergency braking (AEB) tests for pedestrians in a turning scenario and for frontal collision mitigation.

Toyota also scored a high score of 89 percent for adult occupant protection, although it dropped a few points as the ANCAP warned that occupants of oncoming vehicles were at risk.

The LandCruiser performed well in AEB tests.

Even though the LandCruiser was not sold with a front center airbag, the LandCruiser scored the highest in the long-range side impact test because there was minimal occupant movement towards the other side of the vehicle.

A spokesman for the ANCAP confirmed that a vehicle does not need to be equipped with a front center airbag to receive a perfect score for adult occupant protection. The vehicle must perform well in a long-range side impact crash test that evaluates passenger-car and passenger-passenger interactions. ANCAP says it doesn't prescribe measures for best results, but center airbags usually work well in smaller cars where interior space is a big deal.

In child occupant protection tests, the SUV scored high with 88 percent, but top cable attachment points are not available in the third row, prompting ANCAP to warn buyers that child restraints are not recommended in the third row.

Finally, LandCruiser scored 77% for safety, with ANCAP commending the installation of driver assistance systems and collision avoidance systems such as AEB and lane keeping assist.

The 2022 LandCruiser comes standard with AEB with Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection and Crosswalk Assist, as well as Lane Keep Assist, Advanced Speed ​​Assist and Lane Departure Warning.

Toyota now matches one of its key competitors, the Land Rover Defender, with a five-star ANCAP rating. The LandCruiser scored higher in all key test areas except for the child restraint system, which matched the Defender's 88 percent score.

The GR Sport variant does not qualify for the five-star ANCAP LandCruiser rating.

Another key competitor, the Nissan Patrol, does not have an ANCAP rating despite being sold in Australia since 2010. It has undergone a number of safety improvements and is now equipped with AEB, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, rear cross traffic alert. , lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring.

Other ladder-frame SUV competitors that have achieved a five-star rating are the new Isuzu MU-X tested in 2020 and the Ford Everest tested in 2015.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport received a 2015 five-star rating from its Triton ute mechanical twin.

ANCAP CEO Carla Horweg praised the LandCruiser, highlighting its improvement over the model it replaced.

“Large and heavy vehicles always pose a higher risk to other road users and therefore ANCAP focuses on a vehicle’s ability to either avoid a crash or reduce its impact with our Safety Assist test suite,” she said.

"The safety features of the new generation Toyota LandCruiser are a welcome upgrade over its predecessor."