Thatcham Research has announced the safest new cars of 2017, and long list of finalists for the What Car? Safety Award, as part of its ‘safer cars, fewer crashes’ mission.
They say that this year’s tests have shown that there is more choice than ever in choosing a safe car, as manufacturers continue to raise the safety bar.
The list of ten cars taken from the 2016 Euro NCAP ratings, all meet the strict criteria for the award, which includes track-based testing of collision avoidance systems and achieving top marks in crash tests.
Safety technology fitted to the vehicle must include AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) fitted as standard and some form of Safety Assist technology beyond NCAP assessment such as lane keeping systems. The cars are then judged on market relevance and value for money. All 2017 long list finalists also feature Pedestrian, low speed City and high speed Inter-Urban AEB as standard. This is a major step forward in safety for mainstream vehicles as Euro NCAP testing for pedestrian AEB was only introduced in January 2016.
The 2017 long list includes the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi Q2, Ford Edge, Hyundai Ioniq, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008, Renault Scenic, Seat Ateca, Toyota Prius and VW Tiguan.
All the vehicles are remarkably similar in terms of specification and price, apart from the E-Class which is the only more expensive executive vehicle of the list.
The list also includes vehicles which feature innovations which go above and beyond the current Euro NCAP testing, and offer major safety benefits like Lane Departure Warning, which is fitted on most of the top ten as standard; most manufacturers also offer Lane Keep Assist systems to actively steer you back into lane
For the first time, Ford have fitted AEB as standard across all trims of a new model, the Ford Edge, while the Peugeot 3008 features an Intelligent Speed Adaption system on all trims. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class features a unique and highly innovative Junction Assistant system that can prevent side crashes at T-Junctions and intersections.
The Toyota Prius offers Reverse AEB. With 25% of all crashes from parking, this is a system that can save your wallet as well as deaths of small children unseen behind the vehicle whilst manoeuvring
Thatcham Research Chief Executive, Peter Shaw, says “These ten vehicles represent some of the safest cars on sale in the UK today, and we are delighted to see that by raising awareness of the important issues surrounding vehicle safety, manufacturers are starting to rise to our challenge of fitting safety as standard across all models, regardless of segment or price.”
Steve Huntingford, editor What Car? says: “Safety is a key consideration for new car buyers, particularly when the car they’re choosing is going to be used as family transport.”
The winner of the What Car? Safety Award 2017 will be announced on 11 January 2017.
