Words: Richard Edwards
Published 19 April 2026
New Zealand’s most popular new vehicle, the Toyota RAV4, will arrive in its all-new sixth-generation form in the first half of 2026 without an ANCAP safety rating, with Toyota New Zealand confirming a five-star result is expected once changes are rolled out later in the year.
The RAV4 was New Zealand’s bestselling vehicle in 2025, with more than 11,000 sold, and the new model represents the most significant overhaul of the nameplate in years. It introduces a plug-in hybrid powertrain to the RAV4 range for the first time in New Zealand, adds the performance-focused GR SPORT variant, and brings Toyota Connected Services to a Toyota in this market for the first time.
However, the timing of the launch means the sixth-generation car arrives in showrooms without the five-star ANCAP badge the previous model wore throughout its life.
Toyota New Zealand says the situation is a consequence of timing rather than any step back in safety capability.
In briefing materials provided to media, the company says, “We had originally planned to launch the new model in late 2025 and the vehicle was designed to meet the 2025 ANCAP requirements for a 5-Star rating.”
“Due to delays in production, we are now launching the new RAV4 in early 2026 under 2026 ANCAP protocols and are working to update the vehicle to meet the new 2026 protocols.”
The 2026 ANCAP protocols introduce a revised scoring system and several new assessments, and Toyota confirms the sixth-generation RAV4 will receive updates to both its passive and active safety systems later in the year to meet the tougher criteria.
“We expect it will meet the requirements for 2026 5-Star protocols when testing is conducted later in 2026,” Toyota says.
Toyota New Zealand management has separately confirmed to NZ Autocar that the vehicle updates will arrive later this year and that the company is confident of a full five-star result when Euro NCAP testing takes place.
Importantly, the unrated status will not be retrospectively fixed for early buyers. Vehicles delivered before the updates and testing will remain unrated for their entire life. Toyota is direct on this point, saying, “The new (6th) generation RAV4 units sold and delivered before testing takes place at the end of 2026, will remain ANCAP unrated and will always remain unrated, they will not receive retrospective ANCAP ratings.”
Despite the rating gap, Toyota is emphatic that the new RAV4 is a safe vehicle, pointing to a substantially expanded suite of active and passive safety technology compared with the outgoing model.
The sixth-generation car receives the latest version of Toyota Safety Sense as standard across every grade. That includes eight airbags, a driver monitor camera that watches for distraction, an Emergency Driving Stop System that brings the car safely to a halt if the driver becomes unresponsive, and Proactive Driving Assist, which gently intervenes with steering and braking to help avoid obstacles. Front cross-traffic alert, Safe Exit Assist added to the Blind Spot Monitor, a Parking Support Brake with eight sensors, and a tyre pressure monitoring system round out the package.
Toyota says of the new car, “The new (6th) generation RAV4 introduces an expanded suite of safety and driver assistance technologies, building on the strong foundation of the previous (5th) generation, which proudly maintained a 5-Star ANCAP rating throughout its entire model life.”
As to whether the unrated launch will dent sales of a car that has dominated the New Zealand market for years, Toyota is unfazed. Asked directly about the likely sales impact in its media briefing, the company’s response is a single word: “Marginal.”
The new RAV4 range opens at $49,990 for the GX HEV FWD and extends to $66,990 for the GR SPORT PHEV AWD, with HEV and PHEV powertrains, FWD and AWD drivetrains, and three distinct styles in Core, Adventure and GR SPORT.
