Nowadays, most modern cars are generally safe because they have the latest technologies that improve safety on the road. However, this does not mean that safety standards should not continue to improve. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ensure that they modify their crash test and safety standards to accommodate innovations. As mentioned, most modern cars are safe to use on the road. Still, some stand out. In this post, we’ll list the vehicles that made it on the list.
But before that, we’ll first define how IIHS grades a vehicle’s safety rating. The IIHS uses six crash test ratings and awards an additional driver-assist and emergency automatic braking ratings, which are quite challenging to achieve for most vehicles.
When it comes to sedans, crash tests are often difficult to pass. Getting a perfect score is pretty challenging because of their weight and size. But this subcompact received almost an ideal score-only missing the small overlap passenger side.
Kia Rio’s driver-assist features are only present for forwarding collision and have an automatic emergency braking during the S trim.
In the compact car category, Mazda 3’s sedan and hatchback variants topped the list, beating Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Mazda 3 almost got perfect scores in all of the IIHS categories. One of the best things about this model is that it is packed with driver-assist features such as emergency automatic front braking, forward collision alert, adaptive cruise control, lane departure, and driver attention warnings that can make your driving experience one of the best.
Subaru’s Legacy presents you with the perfect scorecard, beating out its more popular counterpart, the Toyota Camry. One of the best safety features of Legacy is its all-wheel-drive system. Like the Mazda 3, it also has forward collision alert, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and emergency automatic front braking.
The level of safety that you can get from Nissan’s Maxima is worth its price point. It achieved an almost-perfect score in all safety categories, except for its headlights, which could use some improvement to enhance its safety score. Aside from emergency automatic front and rear braking, it also has a blind spot monitoring that sends alerts for rear cross-traffic, driver attention warning, and lane departure warning as part of its driver-assist feature.
Crosstrek is Subaru’s smallest crossover on the market. Don’t be fooled with its size as it comes packed with safety features that a crossover can have. Like the Maxima, the only weakness of Crosstrek is its headlights. Although the CVT model has the driver-assist features and not the manual ones, it is a safe car to have on the road. Hybrid variants also have the driver-assist features.
Subaru is proving to take the lead in terms of car safety with their third vehicle on the list, the Forester model, which is also, by far, their most popular model. Forester bested Honda’s CR-V and Toyota’s RAV4.
Perhaps one thing that Subaru should focus on when they design and develop their next models would be the headlights as it is the only factor that prevents them from getting a perfect safety rating.
No matter what car you choose to drive, we are all at risk of being hit by a negligent driver. If you find yourself injured in a car accident through no fault of your own, call injury lawyers like Tario & Associates to help you get a fair settlement.
