What do you consider to be the most important thing before buying a car? You might pick a car for its looks or performance, but do you consider the overall safety? Every car for a fact has to pass through various safety tests before it is available for sale in the market. Cars belonging to any brand or type, are tested on various grounds such as a rollover test, high-speed front crash test, side crash test, seat/head restraints evaluation for protection during rear impacts. The institute carries the safety checks and then rates the car based on its performance in the tests. So the next time you go to buy a new car, you must check the stars awarded out of 5 to the car for overall safety. For your next-time assistance, below are the top 10 cars praised by the insurers for maximum safety.
1. Chevrolet Cruze
Under the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), the Chevrolet Cruze has been awarded 5 stars for overall safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The car has been designed keeping safety as a top priority. Chevrolet Cruze comes with a lot of safety features such as electronic stability control, panic assist, rollover sensing technology, 10 air bags and much more which makes it among the safest cars to drive in the world.
2. Honda Elantra
Safety is the first and the top most priority for any parent when they hand over the steering wheel to their growing up kids. Honda Elantra for such special cases have been awarded as one of the safest cars of 2010 for teenagers according to various automotive magazines. A very efficient handling, electric stability control and the state-of-art design for safety makes it one of the best buys for teenager’s usage.
3. The Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer with “Ecoboost” has been and is still one of the best selling SUV's in the market. Apart from exquisite looks and powerful performance, the Ford Explorer bags full points when it comes to safety. The standard safety features of the car include roll stability control, curve control function, anti-lock disk brakes, cdvance trac and tire pressure monitor. There is no doubt that this all muscle, comfortable, and the most preferred SUV is also among the safest vehicles on road.
4. 2011 Ford Flex
The Ford Flex is a large space family vehicle with three rows sitting. A lot of space means a number of people can travel at a time which makes it more important for the vehicle to be very safe. The 2011 Ford Flex bags all star points when it comes to overall safety. The standard safety features include electronic stability control, roll control technology, four-wheel disk brakes and tire pressure monitor.
5. 2011 Nissan Cube
The Nissan Cube is one of the most affordable small cars available. The exterior design and shape of the car is very innovative and includes delightful interiors as well. Though the car has been designed differently but it is still among the top safety picks in its segment with 4 star roll over safety which might have been the concern considering its shape. The small segment car comes with front airbags, traction control and side impact air bags which make it pretty safe to drive on the road.
6. Nissan Leaf
The Insurance Institute of Highway safety (IIHS) has awarded Nissan Leaf as the safest car of 2011. The car has also proved its worth with excellent performance and zero emission. This Nissan electric car has bagged the maximum points in the crash safety tests from both front and rear. The roof of the car also proved to be too strong in the roll over situation test. The go green electric car apart from Japan will be seen in North America and Europe.
7. 2010 Toyota Prius
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the 2010 Toyota Prius along with Honda insight has been given the Top Safety Pick award in the hybrid section. Apart from the safety benefits for the consumers, the company also saves a lot of money if their cars are safer as they have to pay a lot of money in auto insurance yearly. Other than that, a high overall safety makes a top selling feature too. The car has been rated 4 out of 5 stars for overall safety.
8. VW Golf
According to the tests conducted by Euro NCAP, the Volkswagen Golf has been rated as the safest car in the market. The car after being tested in crash situations and other safety norms has been awarded all 5 on 5 stars for its overall safety.
9. 2011 Audi A3
The 2011 Audi A3 has done very well in the safety tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. With standard electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, hydraulic brake assist and more, the car has been rated among the Top Safety Picks of 2011.
10. 2010 Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander an all family vehicle belonging to the crossover section. It is pretty affordable as compared to the cars of its section and is also one of the safest mid-size SUV's on the road. The federal government has given the car all 5 out of 5 stars for front and side crash protection tests and 4 stars in rollover tests. The car bears very impressive safety features including enhanced vehicle control, traction control and much more.
