The safest cars/trucks to drive on the road

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disneyland5

disneyland5

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disneyland5
Now we all know what the worst and most unsafe cars to drive are. But what about the safest cars/trucks to drive? Specifically if it were to get in an accident. This is not about looks, speed, or even gas mileage. Just solely for being super reliable and safe. No commercial vehicles like buses or semi trucks here. Just civilian vehicles. Also may include modded ones as long as it is legal. Like a jacked up truck or something.
 
Lifted trucks are very unsafe on the road, higher center of gravity, typically oversized wheels and tires without regards to the brakes, suspension geometry that makes no sense, and if you do end up hitting someone you'll probably cause way more damage that would have been if your vehicle would have been at stock height.

As for the safest? Volvo's are often regarded as some of the safest vehicles out there. Hell, an old 240 is more or less the Nokia phone of the car world, I just don't think you could hurt it.
 
No, older cars are much worse than new ones when it comes to safety.
As you can see, the newer Renault takes the impact much better than the old Volvo. That said I'd say that the safest passenger car you can buy for reasonable money is new Volvo or basically any larger, new European or Japanese luxury car.
 
They might be safer, but driving an old car isn't a death sentence either.
 
Well the current Volvo V40 got the highest safety score ever recorded by NCAP so I guess that's the safest new car on the road.

As for used cars I think 90's SAAB's are probably the safest.
 
Most of the new vs old crash test videos are rigged, Chevy tested the new Impala by smashing it into a 1956 Impala as a comparison. In the video, you could clearly see that the old one was just a shell on wheels. No engine.
 
Fastcarguy
Most of the new vs old crash test videos are rigged, Chevy tested the new Impala by smashing it into a 1956 Impala as a comparison. In the video, you could clearly see that the old one was just a shell on wheels. No engine.
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And that engine would go through the firewall and crush everyone inside even worse than before.
 
Do we have to do this again?

Metallurgy, engineering, and safety tech has continually advanced since the car was invented. The steel used in modern cars is miles better than what was used 20, 30, 40+ years ago. Old cars are not safer than newer cars, full stop.
 
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Badasp5.0
Volvo 740s are safe as heck to. I miss both my 240 and 740.
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No, these things are period-relevant. At the time a 740 was stronger than most mid-class cars on the road, watch the above video for how that compares to a modern car of, arguably, a much lower class.
 
Land Rovers are very safe.
image.jpg
 
Safety is a rapidly developing market and even with NCAP rating it's increasingly difficult to quantify.

A major component of safety is what happens after the cars leaves the factory, for ecample in winter conditions a 4wd car with winter tyres is instantly at an advantage of being able to avoid the collision in the first place. A brand new Merc with active braking, but no tread in monsoon conditions is at an instant disadvantage.

Airbags and crash structures have improved greatly. But if your children aren't properly secured, and the dog isn't harnessed then you're still going to have a bad day.

I've been trying to convince my sister to scrap my old Almera and get herself something newer and safer now she can afford it. Sadly she won't listen. I've already told the girlfriend she'll be in an XC70 if we have kids!
 
Lol at muscle cars being safe.

Pretty much anything on the market is safe nowadays. Volvos are generally at the top of their game, with the Germans right behind then, though.
 
Behold the International CXT. The biggest thing you can get on the road. Basically a semi truck but civilianized. Totally commercial free.


0705dp_11_z%2Binternational_cxt_truck%2Bfront_view_yellow.jpg
2005-international-cxt-front-view-in-motion.jpg
 
That 5th gear video was rigged. That Volvo was missing quite a few structural parts in the front.
 
disneyland5
Behold the International CXT. The biggest thing you can get on the road. Basically a semi truck but civilianized. Totally commercial free.
Click to expand...

The NCAP rating would be nothing at all, certainly doesn't look safe. You only have to look at the fronts to imagine the impact on a pedestrian :\


Leonidae@MFT
That 5th gear video was rigged. That Volvo was missing quite a few structural parts in the front.
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It was missing the engine/gearbox.
 
Leonidae@MFT
You don't say.. :p As I said, rigged
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Ah, I misunderstood, when you said "structural parts" I hadn't realised what you meant :)

Volvos have a submarining engine though, the rear dislodges and drops very quickly so that it passes beneath the cabin. I'm not sure how much difference it would have made.
 

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