Toyota HiAce and Mitsubishi Outlander upgraded to receive five-star safety rating

[PCauto] As ANCAP and Euro NCAP implement stricter testing standards, the Mitsubishi Outlander and Toyota HiAce have undergone safety upgrades and earned five-star safety ratings in the latest crash tests.

​​Toyota HiAce's Active and Passive Safety Systems Upgraded​​

The mid-cycle facelift model, released in July 2025, demonstrated comprehensive safety performance improvements in Euro NCAP testing.

The new front center airbag is one of the highlights of the HiAce's upgrade, designed to mitigate the risk of secondary impacts between passengers during a side-impact collision.

During development, the engineering team specifically considered the high-intensity operational demands of commercial vehicles and reinforced the crash resistance of the body structure.​​

​​For active safety, the newly introduced electric power steering (EPS) system in the HiAce provides the hardware foundation for its lane-keeping assist (LKA) function. This system automatically adjusts the level of steering assistance based on vehicle speed, ensuring a more stable and confident driving experience at high speeds.​

Given that commercial vehicles frequently operate in complex urban environments, the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in the new HiAce has been specifically enhanced for improved detection of motorcyclists. This enhancement is particularly significant in cities with high motorcycle density. Test data indicates that the system's response time in detecting motorcycles making sudden lane changes has been reduced by 0.3 seconds compared to the previous system.

The Mitsubishi Outlander maintains its five-star safety rating following safety feature upgrades

​​The core of this upgrade lies in a comprehensive enhancement of the active safety systems, particularly the expansion of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system's detection range to include pedestrians and cyclists at intersections.​​

​​This improvement is a direct response to new urban road safety regulations coming into effect in 2025.​ ​​Testers pointed out that the new system demonstrated higher recognition accuracy and faster response times in simulated urban driving scenarios.

Beyond upgrading the active safety systems, Mitsubishi has also enhanced the Outlander's passive safety systems. This includes optimizing the restraint system layout and improving the performance of the central airbag.

Notably, the newly added driver monitoring camera employs eye-tracking technology, enabling more accurate identification of driver fatigue, which is particularly important in long-distance driving scenarios.

While the new Outlander’s adult occupant protection score increased from 83% to 85%, its child occupant protection score dropped from 92% to 84% due to new testing standards that pose higher requirements for child safety seat compatibility and crash protection performance.

Stricter testing standards were implemented globally in 2025

​​ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg stated that the new standards particularly incorporate assessments for emerging safety technologies, including evaluating their effectiveness in protecting vulnerable road users.​​

​​An announcement from the Australian Department of Transport indicated that, starting in 2025, all new vehicles must be equipped with an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system compliant with the new regulations to achieve a five-star safety rating.

The market's response to the updated safety ratings has been swift and significant. In the Australian market, the Mitsubishi Outlander jumped to third place in the sales ranking for medium-sized SUVs in August, with some dealers reporting a 30% increase in inquiries for new models.

Meanwhile, in the Southeast Asian market, orders for the Toyota HiAce commercial vehicle increased by 15% year-over-year, with particularly strong performance in Thailand and Malaysia.

According to data from the Thai Automotive Association, in the third quarter of 2025, 65% of commercial vehicle sales consisted of models equipped with the latest safety technologies, a 12-percentage-point increase compared to the same period last year. This shift reflects how corporate procurement decisions are placing greater emphasis on safety features. Particularly in the logistics and transportation industries, many companies have already adopted ANCAP five-star ratings as a basic requirement for procurement.

These two models' safety upgrades hint at several important trends in automotive safety technology

First is the widespread application of sensor fusion technology. Both the new Outlander and HiAce utilize multi-sensor collaborative schemes, which enhances system reliability in complex environments.

Second is the rise of software-defined safety features. Many safety functions can now be optimized through OTAupdates, making continuous future improvements possible.

Lastly, the trend of commercial vehicle safety standards aligning with those of passenger cars. The safety configuration upgrade of the HiAce indicates that commercial vehicle safety standards are rapidly improving.

With the rapid adoption of safety technologies, by 2026, the safety configurations of mainstream models will have improved by more than 40% compared to 2023 levels.