2026 Toyota RAV4: thousands of examples set to miss out on five-star crash rating

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Thousands of Australians will own a new Toyota RAV4 “Unrated” by crash-test body ANCAP.

Toyota revealed at this week’s launch of its sixth-generation midsized SUV that it has delayed assessment so it can make active and passive safety “enhancements” to obtain a maximum five-star rating.

The Japanese car maker’s local arm didn’t want to reveal any details of the modifications, which it confirmed could not be retrofitted to RAV4s sold before the updated model is introduced later this year.  

The company stressed that none of the changes are related to the structure of the vehicle. 

“This is the safest RAV we have ever built,” said Toyota Australia’s boss, John Pappas.

“What’s most important is making sure we’re continuously improving the safety [of our vehicles] for our customers.

“So, when you look at what’s in this car, [the RAV4] has the new Arene software platform, it’s got the new multimedia system, it’s got the Toyota Safety Sense 4. We don’t have any of that in our other vehicles.

“It’s a big step up in the safety package for the new RAV.”

Pappas said the company was being transparent with dealers and customers about the ANCAP situation. He also acknowledged Toyota was managing relationships with government and fleet customers owing to policy requirements for vehicles with maximum safety ratings.

“Anyone who has a five-star [ANCAP] requirement, like the government, for example, we will work with them on how and when they can order their [RAV4 in the future],” said Pappas.

“Regarding the delay issue – that was our decision to make sure we had the car in the right quality for market.”

Toyota said it had originally aimed to launch the new RAV4 in 2025 before production delays pushed it into 2026.

ANCAP has introduced a major change to its testing protocols for 2026, assessing new vehicles under four “Stages of Safety”: crash protection, crash avoidance technologies, safe driving assistance, and post-crash assistance and rescue information.

The RAV4 has been Australia’s best-selling SUV for the past six years, and Toyota Australia expects to sell about 40,000 units this year.

With a first ever plug-in hybrid variant joining later this year, the company also expects the RAV4 to be competing to be Australia’s best-selling vehicle in 2027.