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Top five safest cars 2019

Tips and Guides | By Julian | 19.12.2019

If you’re in the market for a new car, it’s only natural you’ve got safety in mind.  The good news is that, across the industry, huge strides have been made towards making our vehicles safer for drivers, passengers, pedestrians and any other roads users alike. 

Innovative technologies like detection systems and automatic braking have ushered in a new era of on-road protection, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the kind of features that come as standard for most models these days. 

However, not all cars are created equally safe. Each year, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) puts the latest releases from popular makes to the test and scores each model a percentage between 0 and 100 across four categories. They then use this data to apply a star rating safety system, with five stars being the highest possible score. 

Below, we’ve listed Euro NCAP’s five highest rated cars for 2019, and outlined the features that make them market leaders on safety. 

5. Subaru Forester

Stars: ★★★★★

Adult Occupant: 97%

Child Occupant: 91%

Vulnerable Road Users: 80%

Safety Assist: 78% 

What makes it so safe?

  • Subaru’s EyeSight 1* acts as the driver’s ‘second pair of eyes’, with a high-res two camera detection system that identifies and tracks things like vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The system can them provide warnings or intervene to avoid accidents. Standout features include:
    • Pre-collision braking
    • Pre-collision throttle management
    • Adaptive cruise control
    • Lane departure and sway warning, with land keep assist
    • Blind spot detection
    • Rear cross-traffic alert. 

4. BMW 3 Series

Stars: ★★★★★

Adult Occupant: 97%

Child Occupant: 87%

Vulnerable Road Users: 87%

Safety Assist: 76% 

What makes it so safe?

  • Front, knee, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags to protect the driver.
  • Front, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags to protect the front passenger.
  • Reminder alerts if seat belts are not worn.
  • Active bonnet that springs to protect pedestrians.
  • Autonomous emergency braking when pedestrians, cyclist and urban obstacles are detected. 

3. Tesla Model 3

Stars: ★★★★★

Adult Occupant: 96%

Child Occupant: 86%

Vulnerable Road Users: 74%

Safety Assist: 94% 

What makes it so safe?

  • Front, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags for both the driver and front passenger.
  • A metal structure that combines aluminium and steel, for optimum strength.
  • Anti-collision systems that protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles, through the use of ultrasonic sensors that have a range of up to 160 metres.
  • Speed assistance features that help the driver stay inside the legal limits and maintain a constant speed.
  • Autopilot features, such as lane assist, that help keep you in the right road position and warn you if you deviate from it. 

2. BMW Z4

Stars: ★★★★★

Adult Occupant: 97%

Child Occupant: 87%

Vulnerable Road Users: 91%

Safety Assist: 76% 

What makes it so safe?

  • Front, knee, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags to protect the driver.
  • Front, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags to protect the front passenger.
  • Active bonnet technology to provide impact cushioning to pedestrians and cyclists if struck.
  • Automated braking systems that react to obstacles in the road.
  • Speed assistance programs that advise the driver of the legal limits, and help them maintain a constant speed where appropriate.
  • Lane keeping technology that intervenes to correct the course of the car, if you’re veering off-road. 

1. Mercedes-Benz CLA

Stars: ★★★★★

Adult Occupant: 96%

Child Occupant: 91%

Vulnerable Road Users: 91%

Safety Assist: 75%
 

What makes it so safe?

  • Front, knee, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags to protect the driver.
  • Front, side head, side chest, and side pelvis airbags to protect the front passenger.
  • Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive system, which includes:
    • Sensor systems that enact automatic braking when a pedestrian, cyclist, vehicle, or other obstacle comes too close
    • Speed monitoring in accordance with legal limits, and cruise-control technology
    • Lane keeping technology that intervenes if the car is moving in a direction that will cause it to go off road at speed
    • A reactive bonnet that helps reduce the strength of impact for pedestrian and cyclists. 

You can learn more about the safest cars of 2019, at the Euro NCAP website. 

Cars may be safer than ever, but you'll also need insurance to help you stay fully protected and drive legally on UK roads. So why not see what we can do for your car and start a car insurance quote today.