If safety is your top priority in shopping for a new car, here’s the good news: rapid advances in sensor technology and crash protection have resulted in more new vehicles being highly rated for safety than ever before. There are so many new safety features to choose from, in fact, that it may be difficult to sort through them all.
Fortunately, credible independent organizations perform their own safety evaluations, making the choices a little bit easier. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for example, releases an annual list of safety awards, based on its own crash-worthiness tests. Among 2021 vehicles, 49 models earned the organization’s top rating, the “Top Safety Pick+” award, more than double the number that made it in that category last year. In all, 90 vehicles from the 2021 lineup met the IIHS criteria for safety picks, close to a 50 percent leap from 2020.
It’s no surprise that the IIHS awards went to a number of automakers long associated with safety innovations, including Volvo, Hyundai Motor Group (which includes the Kia and Genesis brands), Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Subaru. More revealing, perhaps, was the fact that certain makes received little or no mention in the extensive list of safety picks, including Mitsubishi and General Motors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducts its own crash tests and allows you to search safety ratings by year and model on its website. Drawing on the NHTSA and IIHS data, U.S. News & World Report compiles its own safety ratings for new cars, taking into account the availability of advanced safety features that many car buyers now expect as standard equipment, such as automatic emergency braking, collision warning, lane keep assist, a rearview camera, and blind spot monitoring. The result is a more detailed ranking of vehicles within different size categories — more useful than a simple overall rank, since the size and weight of a vehicle are important factors, too, in any safety-oriented purchasing decisions. Here are the U.S. News five safest small cars for 2021:
- Honda Insight
- Mazda 3
- Subaru Impreza
- Honda Civic
- Hyundai Veloster
And here are the five current top-rated SUVs:
- 2020 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid
- 2021 Lexus NX
- 2021 Mazda CX-5
- 2021 Volvo XC40
- 2021 Toyota Highlander
Safety won’t be the only issue you’re facing when buying a new car, but it should be a major consideration. The widespread availability of technology that helps to avoid collisions and minimize their impact is good news for everyone on the road.
THE CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS AT FDAZAR
For more than thirty years the attorneys at Franklin D. Azar & Associates have helped thousands of injured people obtain complete and timely compensation for their losses. Our proven track record and expertise have allowed us to grow into the largest personal-injury law firm in Colorado, with offices in Denver, Aurora, Thornton, Fort Collins, Greeley, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. If you’ve been injured in a bus, car, truck, or motorcycle accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Please call the car accident attorneys at FDAzar day or night at 800-716-9032 or contact us here for a free consultation and no-obligation evaluation of your case.
