Mazda CX-5 customers are benefitting from cheaper insurance costs thanks to the carmaker's investment in active safe technology.
The system has been designed to help motorists avoid collisions and to reduce the impact should an accident occur.
Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) is fitted across the full CX-5 compact SUV range, while the compact SUV is the first from the manufacturer to include innovative SKYACTIV technologies.
As a result, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has decided to reduce the insurance ratings for the vehicles by two categories.
The news could result in more drivers searching for Mazda deals in order to get their hands on a high-performance car that is unlikely to leave them out of pocket when it comes to insurance.
An automatic emergency braking system, SCBS makes use of radar sensors positioned at the front of the vehicle to check how far the car in front is ahead of it and to gauge its speed.
The brakes are automatically applied by the motor if the system believes a crash could be imminent and the driver is yet to react – and the setup is most effective at preventing an accident or reducing the severity of the incident when the speed difference between the two cars is less than 19 mph.
A number of tests were carried out by the Thatcham Research Centre – which has been working in conjunction with the EuroNCAP safety organisation to get to grips with automatic braking systems and their benefits – and the ABI decided that its insurance rating for the Mazda CX-5 needed to be revised.
David Wilson-Green, aftersales director at Mazda UK, noted: "Although any change in premium depends on many factors that insurers evaluate, even a small reduction in group rating has the potential to cut insurance costs."
Mr Wilson-Green added: "We anticipate that the lowered group ratings for CX-5 could result in annual savings up to £50 on some models for our customers."
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Posted by Fred Mason