Thatcham Research announced the safest new cars of the year.
This year’s tests have shown that there is more choice than ever in choosing a safe car as manufacturers continue to raise the safety bar so the public are safer on UK roads than ever before.
The list of ten cars taken from the 2016 Euro NCAP ratings, all meet the strict criteria for the award, which includes track-based testing of collision avoidance systems and achieving a top marks in crash tests – all part of the 5 star rating system.
Safety technology fitted to the vehicle must include; AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) fitted as standard and some form of Safety Assist technology beyond NCAP assessment such as lane keeping systems.
The cars are then judged on market relevance and value for money.
All finalists also feature Pedestrian, low speed City and high speed Inter-Urban AEB as standard, which is a major step forward in safety for mainstream vehicles and in manufacturer commitment to safety, as Euro NCAP testing for pedestrian AEB was only introduced in January 2016.
All vehicles included in the long list are remarkably similar in terms of specification and purchase price, with the Mercedes- Benz E-Class being the only more-expensive executive vehicle of the list. Thatcham Research is committed to driving the adoption of safer cars at all price points, not just higher list price vehicles. The 2016 commended vehicle, the Honda Jazz, was highly praised as the first supermini to offer AEB as standard across all trim lines, at an accessible purchase price. | Top ten safest cars this year |
Alfa Romeo Giulia | |
Audi Q2 | |
Ford Edge | |
Hyundai Ioniq | |
Mercedes-Benz E-Class | |
Peugeot 3008 | |
Renault Scenic | |
Seat Ateca | |
Toyota Prius | |
VW Tiguan |
The long list also includes vehicles which feature innovations which go above and beyond the current Euro NCAP testing, and offer major safety benefits:
- Lane Departure Warning is fitted on most of the top ten as standard, however most manufacturers also offer Lane Keep Assist systems to actively steer you back into lane
- For the first time, Ford have fitted AEB as standard across all trims of a new model – the Ford Edge
- The Peugeot 3008 features Intelligent Speed Adaption system on all trims, as standard. The Speed Limit Recognition and Recommendation system uses a windscreen mounted camera to detect and display the speed limit for the road on which the driver is travelling. In addition to making the driver aware of the speed limit, there is also the option to limit the vehicle to the posted speed limit, taking the stress out of long motorway roadworks
- The Mercedes-Benz E-Class features a unique and highly innovative Junction Assistant system that can prevent side crashes at T-Junctions and intersections
- The Toyota Prius offers Reverse AEB. With 25% of all crashes from parking, this is a system that can save your wallet as well as deaths to small children unseen behind the vehicle whilst manoeuvring
Vehicle segments continue to evolve with two hybrids in the top ten showing the growing popularity of alternative fuel vehicles. The presence of four small SUV’s on the list, also demonstrate the growing market share of cross-overs, and 50 per cent of vehicles in the list, could be described as family wagons.
Thatcham Research Chief Executive, Peter Shaw, said, “These ten vehicles represent some of the safest cars on sale in the UK today, and we are delighted to see that by raising awareness of the important issues surrounding vehicle safety, manufacturers are starting to rise to our challenge of fitting safety as standard across all models, regardless of segment or price.”
The overall Euro NCAP scores are however lower than last year, driven by tougher tests and the more mainstream nature of the vehicles involved.
Last year’s winner, the Volvo XC90, achieved one of the highest scores ever seen in the history of the Euro NCAP test schemes history.
The overall winner and safest car of this year will be announced on 11 January.