Safest car thread

I once had a friend who after being passenger in a serious car crash age 12-13 bought at not inconsiderable expense a 2 year old 5 star rated car with all the latest features. 6 months later MOT failed on tyre wear on all tyres, then promptly replaced them for the retest with £35 a corner chinese ditch finders. I almost exploded when I heard this. The narrow 4 strips of rubber are the only thing which attach you and your 1.3 tonne lump of metal to the ground why skimp if you are concerned over safety?

So it's not all about ratings etc... keeping on top of maintainence and doing stuff like fitting winter tyres and doing advanced driver courses (IAM etc..) in my view is much more likely to reduce your chances of being seriously injured in a crash.

There's no one car which will be the safest - pretty much all new cars are. Just when looking at cars, check out their NCAP rating to get an idea of their safety.

And Btw, I have to add, that the current Volvo Line up is absolutely stunning. Some of the best looking cars on the road are Volvos

If you genuinely want a tough vehicle then look at 4x4s with a proper chassis (a ladder frame stretching from bumper to bumper that helps transmit the force of impact down the length of the vehicle) and then fit it with an external roll cage:

'Aint much getting through that!

Haha I wish I could afford and get myself one of those!


I might just go for a modern Volvo though, due to it's history of safety. Thanks for the post too x

Something to bear in mind when looking at the Euro NCAP results for a car is that a car which got 5 stars 7 years ago may only get 2 if it was tested again today because they keep tightening the requirements so a 2012 5 star car will be much safer than a 2005 5 star car.

But it's worth bearing in mind that newer cars are now scored for things like having a speed limit display/limitation device and seat belt reminders. These don't mean you'll be any safer in an accident.

Depending how old you want to go, Defenders aren't that expensive really. You can pick up a tidy (rust wise) but tatty around the edges mid-90's example for 4-5 grand. I bought my 1990 Defender 110 for £2900 with 180k on the clock in relatively good condition with little rust and an Iveco engine swap. You could probably pick up a used roll cage for £500 or so (Defender roofs are notoriously weak without a cage), but you'd need either the skills or to pay somebody to mount it properly to the chassis. If you were serious you could stick in some bucket seats and 5 point harnesses and then you'd be truly untouchable. The negatives include fuel consumption barely above 30mpg on a good day and 'interesting' driving position (although I personally love it, a lot of people hate it). Positives include cheap insurance and brilliant practicality. I couldn't find something I either couldn't fit inside or get on the roof rack. Mine was a 12 seater too so great for ferrying the mates around.

Also, I've never owned a car with airbags. Dancing with death yo!

The requirements for the impact tests are also higher and anyway the safest car is the one that doesn't crash in the first place!

I used to drive a Volvo 240 estate which had been in my family for years. In the time we had it (12 years I believe) it was rolled four times and crashed eight, and each time anyone that was in it came out totally unharmed. No airbags, no crumple zones, just volvo.

Now I have a Mazda Bongo van, which is less safe, but can never get up to a high enough speed to do serious damage to itself.

'Aint much getting through that!