An Australian variant of the Subaru Forester has achieved the best-ever crashworthiness test rating for a compact four-wheel drive – five stars.

The rating for the range-topping Forester XS Luxury Pack is unprecedented in the history of independent crash testing by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

It means the Australian Forester variant is officially ranked as the safest in its class.

It is also the first time any Japanese-built car has achieved a five-star ANCAP rating.

ANCAP is backed by all the nation's motoring organizations and statutory transport bodies.

Its ratings are recognized by equivalent organizations in the U.S.A., Europe, Japan and Korea, where crash testing is also performed and results shared with Australia.

The Forester XS Luxury Pack version adds side airbags to the standard car's safety specification.

The addition of a warning buzzer to all Foresters manufactured from February 2003, to remind drivers to fasten seatbelts, also aided its top rating.

The vehicle underwent three types of crash testing:

- A side impact at 50 kilometres per hour
- An offset crash test into a barrier at 64 km/h
- side crash into a pole at 29 km/h†

It achieved an overall score of 32.78 out of a possible 37 points to achieve five-star status.

Nick Senior, General Manager, Subaru Australia, said: ÅgRight from the design conception, the engineers aimed to make Forester the safest available vehicle in its class.

"Their efforts are reflected in these crashworthiness results which place Forester well and truly at the top of the class."

A variety of innovative safety advances on second generation Forester include a patent pending controlled-crush design in the B-pillars, located between the front and rear doors.

Mr Senior said safety was an inherent part of Subaru's culture and the car shared a variety of active and passive safety features with the rest of the range.

"From an occupational health and safety point of view, fleets will recognize the Forester's outstanding performance," said Mr Senior.

"The five-star result proves that an All-Wheel Drive recreational vehicle can be designed with safety foremost."

New Forester has achieved record sales since launch in July and was recently recognized by Australia's motoring organizations with an award as Best Recreational Four Wheel Drive.

In the Forester range, XS Luxury Pack represents 20 per cent of sales.

Forester safety – background

In line with the entire Subaru range, Forester's safety cell includes ring-shaped reinforcement frames, producing greater body rigidity, minimum collision distortion, and energy dispersal, regardless of direction.

The ring-shaped reinforcements greatly improve safety in side, offset and head-on collisions.

A newly developed lap pretensioner on the driver's seatbelt combines with a variable load limiter to improve protection in the event of an offset crash.

This works by simultaneously tightening both the lap and sash of the belt when the front airbags deploy, reducing the "submarining" effect of the occupant in a collision.

The front passenger seatbelt also includes a conventional pretensioner for added protection.

Front and rear seatbelts (other than the centre rear lap/sash) have height adjustable anchor points and all three rear seatbelts have Automatic Emergency Locking Retractors.

Subaru's triple A-safety pack includes symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, ABS anti-lock brakes and dual front airbags.

All new generations Foresters feature anti-lock ABS brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). This improves rear wheel braking capacity in response to load shifting caused by deceleration.

The front passenger side airbag has a two-stage inflator, meaning that in a crash at low-to-medium speeds it will open in two stages, reducing the risk of injury.

In high speed collisions, both inflators activate simultaneously, maximising protection.

In the Forester XS Luxury Pack, the larger side airbag is built into the front seats, providing protection to head and shoulder areas regardless of front seating position.

Active front seat headrests on all Foresters reduce whiplash and the severity of neck injury in rear end collisions.

Pillar trims are filled with impact absorbing material to reduce injury in the event of contact in an accident.

To reduce lower leg injury in a heavy frontal collision, the brake pedal bracket absorbs impact.

Forester maintains the rear view standard of all current Subaru wagons, meaning a one-metre tall object, such as a child, can be seen from the rear-view mirror and through the U-shaped base of the rear screen.

The rear view mirror is also 10 mm longer than on the previous model.

Visibility is assisted by the spare wheel being located under the cargo area floor, instead of mounted on the rear door.