Lexus IS250

Lexus IS250 has been awarded the highest rating of five stars, for driver and passenger protection in Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) tests released in November.

IS250 boasts an impressive array of vehicle safety systems, with eight airbags as standard and including world first twin chamber airbag technology.

It has a new twin chamber SRS front passenger's airbag and driver and front passenger's SRS knee airbags.

The front passenger's airbag is designed to lessen the impact of airbag deployment on the front seat passenger.

It features an advanced V shape to create a depression in the centre of the airbag upon deployment and better distribute physical impact to the shoulders and upper torso.

Both the driver and front passenger airbags are designed to deploy in two stages according to the extent of the accident impact.

IS250 was one of only a handful of vehicles to achieve the five star rating for driver and passenger protection, a testament to the vehicle's extensive active and passive safety systems.

"We are pleased that manufacturers are responding to ANCAP's call for a full airbag package in new vehicles," said NRMA vehicle safety expert Jack Haley.

Curtain airbags were not standard on many of the models tested, but Lexus IS250 has been designed to meet the world's top level occupant protection crash safety tests and its own stringent in house targets.

In addition to the eight SRS airbags, IS250 Sports Luxury has a breakthrough Pre-Collision Safety System (PCS).

The Lexus PCS tensions the seatbelts under any of three scenarios: the inter-distance ECU determines a collision is unavoidable; the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and electronic braking ECU determine that emergency braking has been applied; or the vehicle is understeering or spinning.

All Lexus vehicles are fitted with VSC as a standard feature.

The NRMA and the NSW RTA encourage new car buyers to consider vehicles with a full array of six airbags and electronic stability control or VSC.

Source: Lexus Press Releases