safest car?

Question

Which car would give maximum protection for my precious family in all sorts of crashes.

If you could choose which car to have a crash in, which one?

Real world money - say up to £60k

Answer 1

Volvo are supposed to have side airbags reinforced side doors and are less likely to crush you if you have an accident but no car is going to protect you 100 percent in an accident they have to have some give

Answer 2

By design, the best car to have a crash in ( if you must ) are big saloons with a boot. Estates and MPVs are less rigid in their structure, a saloon's boot offers more crumple protection. Most big 4x4s don't do that well either, surprisingly. Their large bodies often distort heavily and they're the most common type of vehicle to suffer what the police call 'single vehicle accidents', mainly because they make you think you're in a car, when in fact you're in a truck, a fact you often realise when you fall off the road in a bend a Jag would have taken easily.
If you want specific recommendations, either a Volvo S80 or a Mercedes S-class would offer the best combinations of active safety ( Where the car handles well enough for you not to get into trouble in the first place ) and passive safety ( for when it's all gone pear-shaped and you're going to hit something)
Hope that helps.

Answer 3

You should be looking at the NCAP ratings, this is a test of all cars when they are produced to ensure they reach at least the minimum safety standards.

The rating go from one to five, five being the best you can get but can i also mention that the chances of surviving a crash are based on much more than the ratings of a specific car.

Take an advanced driving course and spend some time on a skid pan, learn to drive defensively so you will learn how to control your car under extreme conditions such as heavy braking.
A huge effect on being involved in a crash that most people forget about is attitude, just look at boy racers or reps who fly around desperate to 'get one more car in frount'.

Taking to the roads with a more relaxed, curteous and stess freed attitude will help you and your family avoid getting into many dangerous situations in the first place.

http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/ncap/ncap_home.jsp


Drive safer, live longer.

Answer 4

Definitely a Volvo S80, they even have airbags fitted at the sides to protect you precious passengers from side impact. A Jeep / Range Rover or similar type of vehicle is not as safe as many think, they are higher off the ground and this tends to make them unstable and can cause them to overturn at high speeds particularly if you need to swerve to avoid something, therefore this type of vehicle would only be safer if you don't do much motorway or rural driving but neither are towns the place for these cumbersome vehicles.

Answer 5

The Citroën C6, is the safest car ever tested by Euro-NCAP.

"This is the first car in the world to have an active safety system specifically designed to protect pedestrians in the event of an accident. Building on the systems that debuted in the Citroën C4, the new C6 takes this a stage further with a bonnet that pops upwards in the event of an accident with a pedestrian with the specific aim of reducing pedestrian injuries."

It has nine airbags, a head-up instrument display that puts essential driver information on the windscreen right in front of the driver, active suspension that reacts to bumps in the road, active headrests, a speed sensitive rear wing, lane departure warning system, front and rear peripheral radar, low pressure diffusion ventilation & laminated side windows.

Euro-NCAP awarded the Citroën C6 the first-ever four star award for pedestrian safety which, combined with five stars for occupant safety and four stars for child safety, provides the C6 with the best-ever result.

Answer 6

Apparently Volvo is the safest car in the world for the past ten years or so. The Toyota Avensis is also extremely safe for families.

Answer 7

Volvo's are generally one of the safest cars around, but I read somewhere that the new Nissan Qashqai, got the first ever Euro Encap 5 Star rating.

So that would make the Nissan the safest car around, I guess.

Also, wouldn't really CHOOSE to have a crash in any car... thanks.

Answer 8

I would be more concerned about the driver before the vehicle. I depend on myself for safetuy when I"m driving, however, the larger the vehicle, you have more protection in a crash, (obviously), but also the heavier. Why do you ask? Are you planning on having a crash?

Answer 9

For the money, the safest one would be the Ford Taurus or the Mercury Sable. I don't know if they are sold in Europe or not. You can check with the highway safety ratings.

I am speaking of the new Taurus and Sable.

(They have a lot of Volvo in them, since Ford owns Volvo.)

Answer 10

Insurance Safety test in the US took a Subaru Forrester, turned it upside down, lifted it 25 feet by a crane and then dropped it on its roof.........the sunroof glass shattered along with the back hatch glass. Consumer Reports gives the Forrester their highest safety rating for a small suv along with Toyota's small suvs
they have a website, but its mostly "american" cars...www.consumerreports.com