Terramar holds same five star ANCAP as in Australia, but with warning about child seat location.

ANNOUNCEMENT of a solid safety score for a Cupra car recently launched here has come with an unusual comment the crash test auditor says should be heeded by Kiwi consumers.

While the Terramar (above) holds the same five star result in New Zealand as it gets for Australia, the mutual safety auditor says the safety specifications between the two markets differ.

Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) has made special mention of NZ missing out on some features going to buyers across the Tasman.

Blind spot monitoring, cyclist anti-door strike functionality and intelligent adaptive cruise control are standard on Australia-sold vehicles, yet are not standard fitment across all models sold here, the Melbourne-domiciled, NZ agencies’ funded organisation said in a comment today.

It does not specify if that change makes an difference to the safety score it has given the model, but has also noted another NZ-specific change - the lack of a top tether child restraint anchorage for the second-row centre seating position - as being an imperative to consider.

Because of this, ANCAP says, the centre rear “seating position is therefore not suitable for transporting young children.”

ANCAP chief executive office Carla Hoorweg said that while the Terramar offers a well-rounded package of occupant protection and crash prevention, “those looking to purchase the Terramar in NZ should just be aware that there are slight differences in the safety specification of NZ models.”

ANCAP says the car scored well across all key areas of assessment, offering high levels of protection to its occupants as well as other road users.

The score applies to Terramar in its petrol and hybrid front- and all-wheel-drive variants.

Cupra NZ has not provided comment about ANCAP’s position.

The Auckland-domiciled distributor is presently ramping up to release more information in respect to its other 2025 release, the Tavascan fully electric car (above).

That model earlier this year received a four-star ANCAP safety rating, down from five stars for European versions tested under identical criteria.

ANCAP said it was forced to act, citing the lack of ‘advanced’ speed-sign recognition in Australasian versions meant its safety assistance score fell short of the five-star standard.

The Terramar and Tavascan present as the first all new products from Spanish make, which is part of the VW Group, since it launched it’s first battery-wed product, the Born, almost two years ago.

Going by limited technical information on the distributor’s website, Tavascan will avail as per our neighbour, in single motor rear-wheel drive Endurance and dual-motor all-wheel drive VZ.

Both models use a 77kWh lithium-ion battery, with the Endurance sending power to a 210kW/545Nm rear-mounted motor. The VZ adds a front motor for a 250kW combined output, though this reduces range from the 534km rating (WLTP) of the Endurance to 499km.

Both models can be DC fast charged at up to 135kW or AC at 11kW, for a 10 to 80 percent charge in as little as “under 30 minutes”.

What also makes Tavascan interesting is that it is the first Cupra not to be made in Europe. Rather, Tavascan is only sourced from Anhui, China. It was supposed to be here last year, but production fell behind schedule.