5 Popular Car Brands Known For Their Safety

We love horsepower and comfort as much as the next guy, but one buying factor that has gained more importance in the past few years is safety. It’s the factor that decides whether you walk away from a car crash, crawl away, or don’t walk at all. Today, safety goes far beyond a car’s solid build. It’s a complex relationship between active and passive safety features.

Passive safety in cars includes airbags, seat belts, shatterproof glass, crumple zones, side-impact beams, and reinforced passenger compartments. Common active safety features include antilock braking systems, electronic stability control, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. ADAS has been a game-changer in the world of automotive safety, with vehicles actively trying to prevent crashes without driver intervention. It’s a suite of features such as autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control.

How do we know which cars are safe? We can’t just take a manufacturer’s word for it, but we do have reputable agencies like the U.K.’s Global New Car Assessment Program, its European counterpart Euro NCAP, America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These agencies take testing seriously and go beyond crashing a test car into a barrier. They assess a car’s safety in adult and child occupant protection, its effect on vulnerable road users, and its safety assist systems. So let’s talk about popular car brands that are setting the bar for safe mobility. 

If safety were the Bible, Volvo would be Moses. It’s the brand that gave the world the three-pointed seat belt, a safety system it famously patented but let other automakers use for free. But Volvo’s legacy stretches far beyond that. In fact, its history is mostly about making the safest cars. In 2008, the carmaker announced its Vision 2020 campaign, with the goal that by 2020, nobody should be seriously injured or killed in a Volvo car — a view that had been growing for the carmaker since 1970. What happened to that no-fatality goal? People still die in Volvos, but chances of fatality are a good deal lower than the national average if you’re in one. 

Today, Volvo cars are a potent mix of structural integrity and cutting-edge safety features. Volvo’s newest platforms, like the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), have crumple zones designed to absorb crash energy before reaching occupants, while high-strength boron steel ensures frame integrity isn’t compromised. On the other end, ADAS suites in most Volvos use lidar and high-tech software that warns you of imminent danger, and even take over the wheel.

Some of the top-rated Volvos for safety are the XC90, XC60, and the smaller EX30 electric SUV. The XC90 is often seen on the list of IIHS Top Safety Pick+. Like its larger sibling, the XC60 marks its presence in the IIHS Top Safety Pick list. Volvo’s EVs are also making a mark in safety. For example, the Volvo EX30 compact electric SUV scores a full five-stars in the Latin NCAP safety tests. 

For decades, Subaru was the quirky child, an all-wheel-drive brand loved by a select few who lived in snowy regions. But something changed in 2010, when Subaru started focusing more on safety. It soon became a regular on the IIHS safety scoreboard. Subaru’s philosophy on safety sits on two legs. Its Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is more than branding; it provides maximum grip on the road. And its EyeSight ADAS suite.

Unlike other radar-based ADAS systems, EyeSight uses two cameras at the front to accurately detect objects like cyclists and pedestrians. This detection allows its ADAS features, including adaptive cruise control and pre-collision braking. This immensely helped Subaru bag a lot of IIHS Top Safety Pick+ awards. Subaru isn’t skimping on passive safety features either. Most of its cars feature a cool ring-shaped reinforcement frame that protects the occupants in the event of side crashes and rollovers.

Some of the top-rated Subarus for safety are the Ascent, Outback, and Forester. The Ascent has consistently been an IIHS Top Safety Pick, as has the iconic Outback station wagon, which also scores high marks in Euro NCAP tests, especially the performance of its automatic emergency brakes. The Forester scores five stars in Euro NCAP tests and is an IIHS Top Safety Pick as well.

The world over, Toyota has earned a reputation for building bulletproof vehicles. While you may think the Japanese carmaker’s focus is on making reliable and indestructible vehicles, Toyota makes some of the safest vehicles around. This can be attributed to their robust Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform and Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite.

Most new Toyotas sit on the carmaker’s modular TNGA platform, which, while sturdy, is designed for optimal crash absorption. Besides having exceptional structural rigidity, the platform has a low centre of gravity that helps it handle better and more safely. The TSS suite isn’t an option; it’s standard across new Toyota cars, from the Corolla to the Land Cruiser. It comes bundled with features like a pre-collision system, pedestrian detection, lane departure alert, and dynamic radar cruise control.

Some of the top-rated Toyotas for safety are the Camry, RAV4, and bZ4X EV. The RAV4 has been a top scorer in both IIHS and NHTSA safety tests. The Camry consistently bags IIHS Top Safety Pick awards as well, while the all-electric bZ4X SUV, besides being an ambitious EV, scores a full five stars in Euro NCAP tests, especially in the areas of safety assists.

One of the most iconic car brands in the world also impresses with its focus on safety. It is also a company that pays six-figure salaries just to name stuff. Like Toyota, Ford also has its own proprietary ADAS suite called the Co-Pilot 360, standard on most of its cars. This comprehensive suite includes automatic emergency braking, blind spot information, a lane-keeping system, evasive steering assistance, and adaptive cruise control.

Another area that shows Ford’s focus on safety is the use of high-strength boron steel in its car platform as well as truck architecture. A good example is the F150, which uses a high-strength steel frame and a military grade aluminum alloy body. Ford vehicles like the Explorer and Mustang Mach-E score high marks with U.S. safety agencies like IIHS and NHTSA.

Some of the safest Ford vehicles are the Mustang Mach-E, Explorer, and F-150. The Mach-E EV bags the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and top NHTSA marks thanks to its crash-test performance. The F150 consistently picks up the IIHS Top Safety Pick award, impressive for what’s considered a work truck. The Explorer SUV, meanwhile, scored a full five stars in Euro NCAP safety tests, its robust construction and pre-collision assist helping it score well in the area of adult occupant protection.

When it comes to safety, unlike other carmakers, Tesla is quite vocal about its vast ADAS suite. The comprehensive camera-based ADAS suite holds a lot more than its talked-about Autopilot and self-driving features. Advanced features such as automatic steering and braking help it rank highly in the Safety Assist scores.

That’s not to say that Tesla has a poor body structure. On the contrary, the massive, flat battery pack that forms the car’s floor, coupled with the use of high-strength alloys, significantly increases the car’s stiffness while lowering its centre of gravity. This helps it score high in crash protection and rollover prevention. Also, no traditional engine upfront allows the cars to have a larger, more effective crumple zone. These factors allow most Tesla models to achieve five stars in NHTSA tests.

The Tesla Model Y scores a near-perfect Euro NCAP score, especially in Safety Assist and Adult Occupant Protection. The Model 3 might be a $38,380 car without a radio but it scores five stars in NHTSA and Euro NCAP tests. The flagship Model S earned five stars in Latin NCAP tests.