Can someone help me find an extremely safe car?

Question

Well, I'm looking for my first car, so the most important aspect of the car is safety. For an insurance breaks, it also must have side air-bags and anti lock brakes. I was looking at Mercedes and Volvo, and trust me, I still am. They were what my parents had suggested and I can't complain. But It's been very difficult to find a newer car within my price range. The best I can find is a 2001 ML320, and that is still stretching my budget. So just out of curiosity, I want to see what other options I have available. I've started to look into a Buick Park Avenue tonight, and I really like them. But I'm worried because It was the only Buick I found to recieve a GOOD in all categories on the IIHS crash test ratings. every other Buick did not. Basically, as far as my parents are concerned, I should be driving a tank (If I could I would lol) or a padded room. So I need help looking, thanks.

Answer 1

As much as i know,this is a question with different answers,it is really depend on yourself judgement,some great resource her for reference though.http://carinsurance.expertsupport.info/a...

Answer 2

smart cars are sopossed to be safe but expensive. and just because a mercedes is an expensive car doesnt mean its any safer then a honda or camery. or maybe a ranged rover ahahha thats expensive too though... good luck

Answer 3

To make the car safe you need to fix the loose nut behind the wheel.

As for crash protection, most modern cars are far safer than cars even 5-10 years older.

Sedans tend to have more safety features than sports cars, but not always.

Honda and Toyota are easily as safe as Volvo or Mercedes, and typically have lower insurance premiums because the dealers aren't trying to rip you off for replacement parts like the so-called "premium" brands do.

Go to www.nhtsa.gov for more extensive info.

Also, Volvos are way over-rated.  They were safety pioneers to a small extent in the 70's, but most cars are at least as safe as Volvos.  Sadly, Parents who know their kids are bad drivers put their children into Volvos when they can afford to, so now there are scads of idiots driving Volvos.

Answer 4

Very simple..........just go with the Buick and you will be very pleased overall.

Answer 5

I don`t know your preference,but bigger is safer if you are looking for sporty or mid size autos pick up trucks are safe.bmw is a safe car saab is another,and saturn.  

Answer 6

Someone who already answered recommended the new volvo XC60, that car is one of most advanced in terms of safety, the first of it's kind in America.  This is because the car comes with an available system called 'city safety' where it will stop itself if it detects a crash is imminent under 18 mph.  Volvo's are usually a good bet, just watch the side impact rating on the S60 I believe.

Two sites for ratings: safercar.gov and iihs.org

The safer car site comes from the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), and the IIHS is the insurance institute for highway safety.  Surprisingly they both come up with different ratings every now and then.  

Mercedes, Lexus, Volvo, Honda, Subaru - all safe companies.  Other car companies will have certain cars that are safe as well.  You mentioned the buick.  Don't be worried if that car excels and the rest of buick's models don't, the ratings are accurate and independent of each other.  The park avenue is still only getting 4 out of 5 stars though.  

If you're worried about price, I can throw some cars out there that are relatively safe.  A honda civic.  Larger would be a toyota camry.  Subaru's to my knowledge all have flawless ratings.  Smart cars you want to stray away from because of the size.  They did excel and receive perfect ratings but the head of the IIHS himself mentioned that the size makes the passengers more susceptible to injury.  Mercedes usually have innovative features, along with toyota and volvo.  As I said before, volvo has the new XC60 that will stop itself, along with a host of other features like blind spot identification, lane departure, and collision warning.  Toyota/lexus have in some of their models a twin chamber airbag on the passenger side which reallocates the impact forces to the shoulders.  Toyota hybrids/Lexus also have the most advanced stability control system on the market - VDIM.  Mercedes has models that will close windows if a crash is considered imminent.  All of these car companies usually rate well.

Things you need to look for in your car safety-wise are as follows.  

As you said, anti-lock brakes and side airbags.  Make sure the airbags are side curtain, along with the inclusion of side torso for the front passengers.  Try and see if the manufacturer mentions dual stage, multi stage, or 'smart' front airbags.  This means they're adaptive depending on the force of the crash, whether occupants are wearing seatbelts, weight, etc.  Also look for stability control.  Each company calls it by a different name, wikipedia has all of the names as they pertain to each company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stability_c...

I hope this helps, let me know if you have further questions.  If you're going to go with an older car, I would personally recommend the civic or a subaru.

Answer 7

so ur looking for a new volvo car, i wud suggest the safetest ever made the all brand new volvo XC60. get it at any volvo dealership. go to http://www.carpages.co.uk/volvo/volvo-xc...