Mercedes E-Class review – a smooth and refined executive saloon
Top 10 safest cars on sale in 2025
Looking for peace of mind on the road? Here are the safest cars according to independent crash-test body Euro NCAP
It goes without saying that safety is a top priority for car buyers. In an age where our roads are busier than ever, having a vehicle that can keep you and your passengers protected is absolutely essential. But what makes a car truly safe in 2025? It’s not just about how well it protects you in the event of a collision, but also how effectively it can help prevent one from happening in the first place.
This is where Euro NCAP, the independent European New Car Assessment Programme, comes in. For over 25 years, Euro NCAP has been putting new cars through their paces, conducting rigorous crash tests and analysing how well passengers and pedestrians are protected. Its star ratings have become the industry standard for car safety, helping buyers make informed decisions.
But today, the focus has shifted beyond just crash protection. Modern cars are packed with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, and even technology that can detect pedestrians and cyclists. These systems are designed to reduce the chances of an accident occurring in the first place and are factored into a car’s Euro NCAP star rating.
It’s important to point out that Euro NCAP scores aren’t always comparable. The organisation updates its testing and scoring procedures each year, so a car tested in 2021 can’t be directly compared to a car tested in 2024. Scores are weighted differently for different classes of car, too, so a five-star supermini won’t necessarily be as safe as a five-star SUV. That said, if Euro NCAP has rated a new car five stars, it’s likely to be safer than its competitors.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the top 10 safest cars you can buy, based on Euro NCAP’s latest results from 2024. All achieved five-star scores, so let’s take a look at the models that are setting the benchmark for safety this year.
- Priced from around £55,000
Mercedes is a brand that has long been at the forefront of driving safety, and the latest E-Class saloon embodies all of its efforts up until now. Euro NCAP ranked it as the overall safest car it tested in 2024, with the highest score for its safety assistance features out of all cars tested. Euro NCAP also awarded the E-Class full marks for its child occupant crash test performance, making it one of the safest cars for children in the rear seats. It only has two ISOFIX child seat mounting points, however, which isn’t as many as some rivals.
As is expected of a big executive saloon, the E-Class comes with all the safety tech you could need, from automatic emergency braking to an automatic eCall system which alerts the emergency services in the event of a collision. Importantly, it all comes fitted as standard, so you won’t need to hand over any extra cash in order to have the safest model. Sure, even the entry-level E-Class is expensive, but for some buyers, its excellent safety performance will be worth paying for.
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- Priced from around £40,000
The Volkswagen Passat was Euro NCAP’s runner-up in 2024, achieving five stars overall and an impressive 93% in the adult occupant category – better than the E-Class. Children in the rear seats are equally safe, with Euro NCAP awarding the Passat full marks for crash protection for these passengers. Plus, the Passat features three ISOFIX seats – the two outer rear seats and the front passenger seat – which will be helpful for larger families.
Safety aside, we’re fans of the Passat here at Carbuyer. It’s spacious, practical and very refined when cruising on the motorway. Some of the interior controls are a bit fiddly to use, but we can’t fault the cabin’s quality or comfort. The list of standard equipment is long and includes nearly every safety feature – you only need to pay extra for the 360-degree parking camera and VW’s ‘emergency assist’, which brings the vehicle to a safe stop in case of a medical emergency at the wheel.
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- Priced from around £37,000
The latest Skoda Superb Estate, introduced in 2024, is essentially the same car as the Volkswagen Passat underneath the bodywork. The two cars were developed in tandem, and share their crash structure, safety systems and assistance tech. For this reason, Euro NCAP awarded both cars exactly the same score without needing to test the Superb Estate separately.
From a purely safety perspective, there’s nothing to separate the Passat and the Superb, but there are a few reasons why you might want to pick the latter. For starters, it’s nearly £3,000 cheaper than the Volkswagen, despite getting the same standard safety equipment. You have more engine choice with the Skoda, too; there are the same mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid options, but Skoda still offers a 2.0-litre diesel engine which will appeal to buyers who cover lots of motorway miles or need a car for towing.
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- Priced from around £61,000
Audi’s new electric SUV, the Q6 e-tron, unsurprisingly achieved a five-star safety rating when it was tested in 2024. It scored highly across the board, with stand-out results in the child occupant protection tests. It even scored well in the frontal impact test, despite not having any knee airbags for the driver or front passenger. You have practically every modern safety feature fitted as standard and there are three seats with ISOFIX mounting points.
Some of the safety equipment is exclusive to the top-spec Edition 1 model, however. This includes some extra airbags, occupant detection in rear seats and a ‘proactive passenger protection system’ for the front, sides and rear. Even without these extras, the Q6 e-tron achieved a five-star rating, so these safety features can be seen as an added bonus with the higher trim level.
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- Priced from around £50,000
The Mazda CX-80 is the biggest car that Mazda sells, and it’s also the safest according to Euro NCAP. The large, seven-seater SUV scored five stars and was the fifth safest car of last year. It scored especially well in the adult occupant category, with full marks in the lateral impact and rear impact sub-categories. Child occupant protection was just as impressive as the top four cars on this list, achieving 24 out of 24 points for crash test performance for children.
Things look pretty good for the Mazda in terms of safety tech, too. All the usual suspects come equipped as standard – automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance and driving monitoring to name a few – although it’s a bit disappointing that only two out of six passenger seats have ISOFIX points. Still, with a choice of petrol plug-in hybrid or mild hybrid diesel engines, masses of interior and boot space and an excellent safety report, the Mazda CX-80 makes for a great, safe family car.
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- Priced from around £69,000
The Porsche Macan Electric is an all-new model for the German brand, sharing nothing under the metalwork with the petrol-powered Macan. It was tested by Euro NCAP as an entirely separate model for this reason, and it performed exceptionally well, achieving the full five stars. It dropped a couple of points in the frontal impact test compared to the cars above, but it was just as effective at protecting children in the rear seats in the event of a crash.
Safety tech is impressive on paper, with even the entry-level Macan Electric getting automatic emergency braking, lane change assist and ‘swerve assist’, which can automatically steer to avoid a collision. It dropped a couple of marks for not having the most cutting-edge driver monitoring tech, but this is hardly a dealbreaker. The Macan Electric is still one of the safest cars on sale today – that’s before you mention how impressive the interior, range and driving experience are.
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- Priced from around £47,000
The Cupra Tavascan is another electric SUV that performed well in Euro NCAP’s safety testing last year, achieving five out of five stars. It shares its battery and electric motor with the Volkswagen ID.4, which also achieved five stars in 2021, although the Cupra was put through the latest, more rigorous test procedure. With three ISOFIX seats and full marks for the child occupant crash test, the Tavascan is one of the safest family cars on the market.
There’s a lot to like about the Cupra Tavascan beyond its impressive Euro NCAP score. The interior is well-built and quite roomy compared to rivals, plus it drives well and has a reasonable range. It is fairly pricey, though, and the bold styling won’t be for everyone. For the money, you do get a comprehensive suite of safety and assistance systems – there’s everything from autonomous emergency braking to adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring fitted as standard.
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- Priced from around £31,000
The Toyota C-HR is the smallest car on this list, but Euro NCAP still gave it the highest five-star safety rating. It performed well in both the adult and child occupant crash tests, scoring 85% and 86%, respectively, and came out on top overall for pedestrian protection. The C-HR also impressed with its safety tech, especially for a car at this price point. Every trim level gets autonomous emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring as standard, along with kit like traffic-sign recognition, adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assistance.
While that all sounds fantastic on paper, and contributed to the Toyota’s high Euro NCAP score, we found that some of these safety systems could be quite intrusive in practice. The traffic–sign recognition system would ‘bong’ every time we strayed over the speed limit, which could quickly become irritating and lead some drivers to switch the systems off. But in terms of crash safety, the C-HR is one of the safest small SUVs on sale.
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- Priced from around £38,000
The Skoda Kodiaq is one of the most practical cars on the market, with up to seven seats, masses of interior space and a big boot. Despite the general bump in quality for the all-new second-generation model, the Kodiaq still represents great value-for-money compared to other seven-seater SUVs. Added to which, it’s one of the safest large SUVs, too, only beaten by the Mazda CX-80.
While the CX-80 did outperform the Kodiaq in each of the four categories, there wasn’t much in it. The Kodiaq achieved five stars overall and just missed full marks in the child occupant crash test. It’s a shame that only two out of the five rear seats have ISOFIX mounting points, but at least the front passenger seat has this feature. Even though the safety assist category was its least impressive, a score of 78% is better than most and you still get all the safety tech you could possibly need included as standard.
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- Priced from around £25,000
The MG HS is a new mid-size SUV from the British-Chinese brand that offers excellent value-for-money. The petrol model costs just £25,000, while the PHEV version is still relatively affordable at just over £31,000. You get the sense that MG has had to cut a few corners here and there – mainly regarding its refinement and performance on the road – but thankfully it hasn’t skimped on safety. It achieved the full five star rating from Euro NCAP, with a particularly high score of 90% for adult occupant protection.
The child occupant category was scored highly, too, bolstering the HS’s family car credentials. It got full marks for its crash test performance for children in the rear seats, and it has nearly all of the safety tech found in more expensive rivals. It lost a few marks for lacking an advanced driver monitoring system, but a score of 74% for the safety assist category is nothing to be sniffed at. That’s especially true when comparing the HS to the Dacia Duster, another budget SUV that was only awarded three stars by Euro NCAP in 2024.
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Safest cars: price and score table
| Safest car ranking | Make and model | Priced from | Carbuyer rating (out of 5) |
| 1 | Mercedes E-Class | £55,000 | 4.4 |
| 2 | Volkswagen Passat | £40,000 | 4.1 |
| 3 | Skoda Superb Estate | £37,000 | 4.3 |
| 4 | Audi Q6 e-tron | £61,000 | 4.2 |
| 5 | Mazda CX-80 | £50,000 | 4.3 |
| 6 | Porsche Macan Electric | £69,000 | 4.3 |
| 7 | Cupra Tavascan | £47,000 | 4.0 |
| 8 | Toyota C-HR | £31,000 | 3.8 |
| 9 | Skoda Kodiaq | £38,000 | 4.3 |
| 10 | MG HS | £25,000 | 3.8 |
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