When it comes to buying a new or used car, safety is likely the top priority for most consumers. Many things suggest safety, such as a long list of in-car features like lane departure warnings and airbags, but the true test is generally the crash test ratings a vehicle receives. Vehicles can vary widely in their crash test rankings, and while being from the same brand is no guarantee of consistency, there are some clear trends.
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Looking at data from various safety organizations can offer some insight into which vehicle manufacturers offer safer vehicles overall. There are no guarantees when it comes to buying a vehicle, but some brands may be a safer bet, and others are best avoided. Next time you go shopping for a new vehicle, consider the car brands with the best safest ratings, and reconsider the ones with the worst — both in terms of official safety rankings and statistics based on accident data.
Here we’ve ranked the most and least safe cars, based on safety data as reported by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), two highly esteemed organizations known for their safety reviews. You can learn more about our methodology following this list.
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