How Well Does Your Car Rate When It Comes To Safety?

If you’ve been a vehicle owner for well over a decade, you probably notice the improvements and advancements that manufacturers have made in a short period. Think back to even a few decades ago, and the most common safety feature was an airbag.

Today, more cars are released on from the factory line with “fully-loaded” safety features, from backup cameras to forward collision avoidance systems. Given the most recent accident statistics for the U.S., it’s clear that a safe vehicle is a definite must.

While the stats have not been completely analyzed for 2017, the National Safety Council estimates that there were 40,100 people killed in car accidents, which is a 1% decrease from 2016, but a 6% increase from 2015.

As many drivers know, daily car accidents are a result of human error and while nearly every crash is preventable, contributing factors like distracted driving, drunk driving, reckless behaviors like speeding, and even drowsy driving play a significant role in crashes.

Check Out These Vehicles With The Top Safety Ratings

While you can’t guarantee that you won’t be involved in an accident, you can make sure you drive a safer car.

How are these vehicles rated? The top-rated vehicles have earned the 2018 Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In order to receive the prestigious rating, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the following:

Check out some of the top vehicles that performed the best in vehicle accidents in 2018.

Hyundai Elantra

The 2018 Hyundai Elantra has earned good ratings for safety features inside the vehicle. Acceptable ratings were given to the passenger-side overlap front and how easy it is to use the child seat latch anchors.

Other safety features include side airbags with front and rear head curtain airbags and front seat-mounted torso airbags, a rollover sensor, which deploys the side curtain airbags, and driver knee airbags. The 2018 Hyundai also has electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and daytime running lights.

Other models of Hyundai that also earns top-safety ratings include the Sonata, Santa Fe, and the Santa Fe Sport.

Kia Forte

Like the 2018 Hyundai, the Kia Forte scored good ratings in all tested areas except for the passenger-side overlap front and the ease of use on child seat anchors (both received acceptable ratings.

Additional safety features include side airbags with front and rear head curtain airbags and a front seat-mounted torso airbag. The Kia also has a rollover sensor, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and optional running lights. Other top-rated Kia’s include the 2018 Niro hybrid, Soul, and the Optima.

Subaru Crosstrek

Good news for Subaru fans, the Crosstrek earned all good ratings in all test areas, including ease of use for child seat anchors. Other safety features in the 2018 Crosstrek include side airbags (with front and rear head curtain), a rollover sensor, driver knee airbag, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and daytime running lights.

Other Subaru models that earned top-safety ratings in 2018 include the Impreza, WRX, Legacy, and the Outback.

Toyota Camry

Not only is the Camry a popular model for durability and a long-running vehicle, but it continues to be a top pick for safety. The Toyota Camry earned good ratings in all test areas and in addition to side airbags, a rollover sensor, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and daytime running lights, there are knee airbags for both driver and passenger.

BMW 5 series

If you’re in the market for a luxury car with top-rated safety features, this BMW might be an ideal option for you. While it was rated acceptable for child seat latches, it received good ratings in all other areas.

Not only does the BMW have side airbags with the front and rear head curtain, but there are also dual knee airbags (one for the driver and the other for the passenger). Electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and a rollover sensor is included. The daytime running lights are programmable.

The BMW X3 is another top-rated vehicle in 2018.

Genesis G80

While the Genesis gets a marginal rating for the ease of use on the child seat latches, it ranks the highest rating on every other test area. Much like the other top-rated vehicles on our list, the Genesis has side airbags, a rollover sensor, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, daytime running lights, and a driver-side knee airbag.

Other Genesis fans may be interested in checking out the high-ratings of the G90.

Lexus RC

If you’re looking for luxury and safety, you’ll get it with the 2018 Lexus RC. It passed all of the tests with the highest-ratings and it has all of the other additional safety features of other top-rated cars on the market. The knee airbags are located on both the driver and passenger side.

While there are other Lexus models that receive good marks in 2018, the RC received the highest mark in terms of safety.

Lincoln Continental

While the Lincoln Continental has front collision prevention as an optional feature, it still receives top-ratings. The Continental scored all good marks except for the child safety latches which were rated as acceptable.

In addition to the other safety features that are available in the top-rated cars, there are dual knee airbags, inflatable seat belts, and programmable daytime running lights.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

It may come as no surprise to lifelong Mercedes Benz owners that the vehicles are up-to-date on some of the latest safety features. The E-Class received highest marks in all test areas and have a majority of the same additional safety features as noted in some of the other vehicles.

The 2018 E-Class also has head restraints that automatically adjust when seats are moved and programmable daytime running lights. Other top-rated Mercedes Benz models for 2018 include the GLC and the GLE-Class.

Don’t see your car or one that you’re interested in purchasing? Check out IIHS’s complete list of top-rated vehicles for safety.