As car technology improves, the safety features offered by car manufacturers continues to raise the bar. The technology and improvements are necessary. Car accidents happen everyday and it’s estimated you have a one in 600 chance of being severely hurt or killed in a car accident. Read more about the performance specifications and interior features of these safest cars on the road right now at Cars.com.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the organization that runs crash tests on every vehicle made, one of the safest mini car on the road today is the Mini Cooper as long as the model you buy includes front crash protection features that are currently optional, and a hard top rather than the convertible model. One of the safest small sedans is the Acura ILX also with optional front crash protection. There are actually 12 other small sedans that passed the institute’s crash tests with flying colors including several Volkswagen models, Subaru models, Toyota models and others.
Several midsize cars ranked well for crash test performance rating. The Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Kia Optima, Nissan Maxima and several others earned a Top Safety Rating banner. The highest rated midsize luxury car field was a bit smaller with nine models earning a Top Safety Pick rating. A few of those models were the Audi A3, BMW 3, Lincoln MKZ and the Volvo S60. Large sedans to earn high marks from the institute include the Buick LaCrosse, Kia Cadenza and the Toyota Avalon.
There are more SUVs on the road today than ever. You might think the larger size of the vehicle could mean better protection. But that’s not always the case. In terms of small SUVs, 11 models made the safety cut including the Subaru Forester, the Honda CR-V, the Nissan Rogue and the Toyota RAV4. Midsize SUVs that are considered to be among the safest are the Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Nissan Murano, Toyota Highlander and the Mazda CX-9. Only the Audi Q7 earned a Top Safety Pick rating by the institute in the large SUV category.