Vito, Viano first in their class to get top safety tick

The Vito, with curtain airbags, gets a five-star rating.

The Mercedes-Benz Vito van and Viano people-mover are the first vehicles in their class to pick up a maximum five-star crash result from the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.

But there's a catch - buyers of the the base-model Vito must equip the vehicle with optional curtain airbags before they can drive off with a five-star rating. Without the safety curtains, the Vito rates four stars, still the highest-scoring van in its class. Electronic stability control was added when the current-generation Vito was launched in New Zealand in 2006, while curtain airbags have been available since the beginning of this year.

The van, also the basis for the Viano, wrapped up its five-star rating after a side-impact "pole" test at ANCAP in Melbourne on July 29.

ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh said: "We have seen over the last 12 months manufacturers actively working to build safety into vans, and it is pleasing to see these improvements showing through with a number of four-star ratings before Mercedes' five-star result.

"This result demonstrates commercial vehicles can and should be just as safe as passenger cars. We have seen the family car, utes and now light commercial vehicles become safer in the interests of all consumers."

Ken Matthews, the managing director of Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles for the Australia/Pacific region, said: "Van drivers have not always enjoyed the same safety technologies as car drivers, and we have acted to redress the balance.

"As a company we are proud that this five-star result makes a safer work place available to the many thousands of van drivers who spend long working days in their vehicles all over Australia and New Zealand.

"We wouldn't contemplate compromising on workplace safety for our office-based employees or our staff on the road, so why would we accept a lower level of safety for courier and delivery drivers?"