10 safest cars on sale in the UK 2024

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has been testing new cars for safety since 1997 – awarding models with a star rating which buyers can use as a guide to which cars are the safest. We’ve pored over the latest Euro NCAP ratings to bring you the top 10 safest cars on sale today.

Cars are subjected to a variety of tests which are designed to replicate real-world crash situations that could result in the occupants being seriously injured or killed. In recent years active safety tech has been put to the test, evaluating how well the car can prevent a crash from happening in the first place.

Because the top 10 all have the maximum five-star rating, we’ve turned to the four different test areas to order this list. Every car has a percentage score in the following categories: Adult Occupant protection, Child Occupant protection, Vulnerable Road User protection and Safety Assist. We’ve taken the average rating from these four categories to rank these models.

It’s also worth noting that Euro NCAP’s tests change every year, which is why this list only consists of cars tested from 2023 onwards.

The 10 safest cars on sale in the UK are:

1. Mercedes E-Class
2. Volkswagen ID7
3. Smart #3
4. Skoda Superb
5. Volkswagen Passat
6. Mercedes EQE SUV
7. BYD Dolphin
8. Lexus RZ
9. BMW 5 Series
10. Toyota C-HR

1. Mercedes E-Class

• Adult occupant: 92%
• Child occupant: 90%
• Vulnerable road users: 84%
• Safety assist: 87%
• Average score: 88.25%

The new Mercedes E-Class performed very well in the 2024 Euro NCAP crash tests, placing it as the safest car you can buy. It touts impressive scores for adult occupant and child occupant protection, meaning the car’s structure will protect you well if the worst should happen.

You also get plenty of active safety kit as standard to prevent an accident from happening in the first place. All cars get lane-keeping assist, autonomous emergency braking and a reversing camera – all of which are mandatory these days, and you can option traffic jam assist as well.

2. Volkswagen ID7

• Adult occupant: 95%
• Child occupant: 88%
• Vulnerable road users: 83%
• Safety assist: 80%
• Average score: 86.5%

The Volkswagen ID7 scored even higher than the E-Class for adult occupant protection, so the crash structure and suite of airbags perform well in an accident. It falls down on safety assist though, hence its place below the Mercedes on this list.

It’s still a good score though, and all ID7s get autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control as standard. It was the occupant status monitoring which tripped the ID7 up, meaning it doesn’t do quite such a good job of making sure you’re paying attention, and it wasn’t as effective at detecting approaching cars at a junction as the E-Class.

3. Smart #3

• Adult occupant: 90%
• Child occupant: 86%
• Vulnerable road users: 84%
• Safety assist: 85%
• Average score: 86.25%

Coming in at number three is the Smart #3, with this electric SUV scoring well for adult occupant protection. It scored pretty consistently across the board, with impressive results for child occupants and safety assists.

The #3’s weakest area was in the vulnerable road user category, where it was noted that the stiff windscreen pillars didn’t protect the head of a struck pedestrian or cyclist as well as they could. It still scored very well overall though.

4. Volkswagen Passat

• Adult occupant: 93%
• Child occupant: 87%
• Vulnerable road users: 82%
• Safety assist: 80%
• Average score: 85.5%

The all-new Volkswagen Passat performed very well in its crash tests, scoring particularly highly in the adult and child occupant protection categories. It was the lateral impact test which impressed most, with the Passat doing very well at protecting occupants in a side-on crash.

The lowest score was in the safety assist system, but the Passat still performed very well here. The autonomous emergency braking system does a good job of preventing low-speed collisions, and the lane-keeping assist also proved effective at keeping the car on the straight and narrow.

5. Skoda Superb

• Adult occupant: 93%
• Child occupant: 87%
• Vulnerable road users: 82%
• Safety assist: 80%
• Average score: 85.5%

It’s no coincidence that the Skoda Superb has exactly the same scores as the VW Passat. Because these cars are more or less identical under the skin, Euro NCAP has applied the Passat’s results to the Skoda.

This means it proves just as safe as the Volkswagen, with occupants being well-protected in an accident and the safety assists doing a good job preventing a crash.

6. Mercedes EQE SUV

• Adult occupant: 87%
• Child occupant: 90%
• Vulnerable road users: 80%
• Safety assist: 85%
• Average score: 85.5%

The Mercedes EQE SUV performed best in the child occupant protection category. This electric SUV has a system fitted which automatically disables the passenger airbag when a rear-facing child seat is fitted to the front passenger seat, contributing to this score.

Vulnerable road user protection is where the EQE SUV scored the least, which is not a shock for a big, heavy SUV. It still did a good job of protecting pedestrians and cyclists in an impact, with just the base of the windscreen pillars being noted as a problem area.

7. BYD Dolphin

• Adult occupant: 89%
• Child occupant: 87%
• Vulnerable road users: 85%
• Safety assist: 79%
• Average score: 85%

Newcomer to the UK BYD has scored well with its Dolphin electric hatchback. It put in a very good performance in the rear impact test, as well as the lateral impact test earning it 89% overall for adult occupant protection.

The safety assist category was the weakest for the Dolphin thanks to the occupant status monitoring system. This car only detects driver drowsiness – it doesn’t monitor driver attention, resulting in a few points being lost here.

8. Lexus RZ

• Adult occupant: 87%
• Child occupant: 87%
• Vulnerable road users: 84%
• Safety assist: 81%
• Average score: 84.75%

The Lexus RZ did a great job protecting both adults and children in its crash tests, scoring particularly well in the rear impact and frontal offset tests. Vulnerable road users are also well-protected in an impact.

While the RZ did perform well in the safety assist category, this was its lowest score. Euro NCAP noted that the driver monitoring system detects “long distraction”, which is when the driver is not focussed on the road ahead, but doesn’t detect things like mobile phone use.

9. BMW 5 Series

• Adult occupant: 89%
• Child occupant: 85%
• Vulnerable road users: 86%
• Safety assist: 78%
• Average score: 84.5%

The new BMW 5 Series also earned itself a five-star safety rating thanks to impressive adult occupant protection. Vulnerable road users are also well-protected, with the autonomous emergency braking system detecting cyclists and pedestrians with ease.

Once again the occupant status monitoring bright the safety assist score down, with the 5 Series only detecting driver drowsiness. It still scored well for autonomous emergency braking and lane-keep assist though.

10. Toyota C-HR

• Adult occupant: 85%
• Child occupant: 86%
• Vulnerable road users: 86%
• Safety assist: 79%
• Average score: 84%

Last but not least is the Toyota C-HR, and this quirky-looking SUV scored consistently well across the adult occupant, child occupant and vulnerable road user protection categories. In the event of an accident you can rely on this car to offer good protection.

That 79% score for safety assists can be put down to the driver drowsiness detection, which only detects fatigue and not distractions. The autonomous emergency braking system proved to be effective at preventing low-speed impacts.

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