A car may be the second-most expensive thing that many of us are ever likely to own, but we often use our cars to ferry our families about, and regardless of monetary value, your family is by far the most valuable thing you will ever possess. That makes safety a critically important factor when choosing a car.
That’s where Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) comes in. Since 1997, this established expert body has been crash testing cars to assess how well each model protects its occupants in various types of common collision, as well as pouring over the facts and figures of the safety technology offered by each car. Each model tested is then bestowed with a rating of between zero and five stars, with five stars signifying the safest cars and zero signifying the worst for safety.
The Safest Cars On Sale in 2024:
- EuroNCAP and Car Safety
- Volkswagen ID.7
- Smart #3
- Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV
- BYD Dolphin
- Lexus RZ
- BMW 5 Series/i5
- BYD Seal-U
- BYD Seal
- Kia EV9
- BYD Tang
EuroNCAP and Car Safety
Technology never stands still. More and more clever safety measures are being added to our cars all the time, and the technology that already exists is becoming ever more sophisticated. And, in an effort to encourage this innovation from car manufacturers and improve general safety standards across the board, Euro NCAP regularly changes its testing procedures and thresholds to make the tests tougher to ace. This means that a five-star car tested a year or two ago may well not be a five-star car were it tested today, and so the more recently the test occurred, the more accurate the result.
The latest changes to the regulations happened in 2023, and the new requirements were wide-ranging. They included new night-time testing of various active safety systems, and more detailed assessments of how well a car is able to detect and avoid potential collisions with vulnerable road users - such as cyclists and motorcyclists - in a variety of complex situations.
To achieve a top score, cars also need to have a driver monitoring system that warns against tiredness or inattention, a system that allows the doors and windows to be opened if the car becomes submerged in water, and a system that warns if a child has been left in the car. Regardless of all the minute detail, though, the upshot is that the safest cars on the market today will be the highest-scoring cars tested within the last year. But which ones are they?
Well, wonder no more. We’ve gone through all the results of Euro NCAP’s 2023 tests, and picked out the five-star cars with the highest overall scores. In all, 14 cars achieved the highest rating in 2023, but since four of them are built by brands that don’t currently sell cars in the UK, we’ve just listed the top 10.
Volkswagen ID.7
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 95%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 88%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 83%
Safety Assist Score: 80%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 346/400
The ID.7 is Volkswagen’s all-electric equivalent to the now-defunct Passat saloon. It sits on the same MEB platform that underpins all of the brand’s other electric ID cars, but at almost five metres long, the ID.7 is the biggest yet. This is a car that’s comparable to a Tesla Model S for size, but more comparable to a Tesla Model 3 for price. It offers a spacious and plushly-trimmed interior that’s well equipped and has an infotainment system that’s vastly improved compared with the company’s earlier ID efforts. It’s a pleasant, easy-going car to drive, with exceptional refinement.
VW ID.7 Review
Smart #3
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 90%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 86%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 84%
Safety Assist Score: 85%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 345/400
These days, Smart is a very different brand to the one that saw our cities infested with teeny-tiny micro cars that could turn on a postage stamp and fit sideways into parking spaces. Nowadays, bigger, more stylish SUVs are the order of the day, and following the firm’s first offering, the #1, is the #3, a slightly longer and lower coupe-SUV variant. With battery sizes of 49kWh and 62kWh, official range figures go up to 283 miles, which is marginally better than the #1 thanks to improved aerodynamics. We haven’t driven the car yet, but we’ll let you know once we do.
Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 90%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 80%
Safety Assist Score: 85%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 342/400
The Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is the German firm’s midsize electric SUV, slotting in between the EQC and the EQS SUV. As is predictable, a roomy, plushly-trimmed cabin is provided, along with cutting-edge infotainment technology: few companies are smashing it in this area as much as Mercedes is right now. Prodigious performance is also a given, and all versions come with a large 90kWh battery that gives a range of more than 300 miles.
BYD Dolphin
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 89%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 85%
Safety Assist Score: 79%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 340/400
The curiously named Dolphin is just the first of several cars in this list from Chinese electric car firm BYD (which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’), which is a good indication that the company is already bossing it in the area of safety despite only just arriving on European shores. The Dolphin is the smallest, most affordable of the company’s offerings, giving it huge appeal in itself, and rivals include the slightly smaller Peugeot e-208 and the slightly larger Volkswagen ID.3, both of which it undercuts significantly on price.
Lexus RZ
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 84%
Safety Assist Score: 81%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 339/400
Not surprisingly, the Lexus RZ shares its platform and battery tech with the bZ4X from parent company Toyota, as well as the Solterra from Subaru, in which Toyota also has an interest. That being the case, it’ll come as no shock to learn that there are similarities in the way the three cars drive. There’s a difference with the Lexus version, though, and that’s that it’s bigger at 4.8 metres long, it has more equipment and has a more premium finish. It is also, of course, more expensive as a result.
Lexus RZ Review
Search for a Lexus RZ on CarGurus
BMW 5 Series/i5
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 89%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 85%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 86%
Safety Assist Score: 78%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 338/400
It’s no accident that the BMW 5 Series is the world’s most successful executive saloon, because generation after generation (eight of them, to be exact), the 5 Series has delivered precisely the cocktail of abilities that buyers demand. The latest Five perhaps does the job better than ever, with an interior that’s roomy, practical, lavishly appointed and absolutely stuffed with technology, and a driving experience that delivers excitement and comfort in equal measure. It’s safe, too, as it turns out.
BMW i5 Review
Search for a BMW 5 Series on CarGurus
BYD Seal-U
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 90%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 86%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 83%
Safety Assist Score: 77%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 336/400
BYD’s second car on this list - again, with an oddly aquatic name - and although related to the Seal saloon below that you’ll read about in a minute, the Seal-U (which stands for ‘Utility’) is a jacked-up mid-size SUV to rival popular cars like the Ford Kuga and Kia Sportage. Like all the other cars in BYD’s UK lineup, it’ll be offered as a battery-electric vehicle when it goes on sale later in 2024, but it’s also likely to break with BYD tradition by also being offered as a plug-in hybrid.
BYD Seal
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 89%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 82%
Safety Assist Score: 76%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 334/400
You could see the Seal as a statement of intent from BYD. You see, in 2023, BYD managed to topple Tesla as the world’s most prolific maker of electric cars. And the Seal, in terms of its size, looks, price and appeal, is a nailed-on rival for Tesla’s immensely popular Model 3 saloon. It also happens to be BYD’s most compelling car yet, with impressive practicality, strong quality, an enjoyable driving experience and good range figures.
Kia EV9
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 84%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 88%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 76%
Safety Assist Score: 83%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 331/400
Not all that long ago, it would’ve been unthinkable for Korean firm Kia to be genuinely dusting it with the most high-end offerings from Audi, BMW and Range Rover in the UK’s SUV market, but that’s precisely what the EV9 is designed to do. This all-electric, seven-seater premium SUV certainly looks the part, and it should have the quality and technology to compete as well. Prices will be very high compared with other Kia models, but compared with those of rivals, they’re likely to be very aggressive indeed.
BYD Tang
Adult Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Child Occupant Protection Score: 87%
Pedestrian Protection Score: 80%
Safety Assist Score: 73%
Overall Euro NCAP Score: 327/400
Unless there’s a fish we’ve never heard of, it seems BYD dispensed with the aquatic theme for the name of its large, luxurious seven-seater SUV. Before you get too excited, the Tang isn’t yet on sale in the UK, but it is in other parts of Europe, and is predicted to hit the UK in a couple of years after an impending facelift, so it’s good to know that the car’s safety credentials are in order well before that happens. We’ve had a go in the car, and we were impressed, so make sure you read all about it below.
BYD Tang Review
N.B: Information correct at time of publication, but is subject to change.