Choose a safe new car with Insure.com's S.A.F.E. Car Program

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Choose a safe new car with Insure.com's S.A.F.E. Car Program

By Insure.com

Insure.com's exclusive Safe Autos For Everyone (S.A.F.E.) Car Program takes the guesswork out of selecting a safe new vehicle.

Insure.com S.A.F.E.

Cars will

be denoted by

Using crash test data from both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the S.A.F.E. Car Program sifts through the dozens of makes and models to identify the safest vehicles in eleven categories: small cars, midsize cars, midsize/near luxury cars, large luxury cars, large family cars, minivans, small SUVs, midsize SUVs, luxury SUVs, and both small and large pickups.

To be awarded the Insure.com S.A.F.E. Car designation, the model must be tested by both the IIHS and NHTSA and receive ratings of:

Who's a winner for this year? See The safest cars of 2007

Why isn't my car a winner?

You might assume that cars faring best in crash tests are the largest, heaviest vehicles — perhaps the Mercedes S-600, BMW 745i, or the Rolls Royce Park Ward. You might be right.

However, IIHS and NHTSA do not test every vehicle every year, and they rarely test less-popular, expensive luxury cars (none of the three mentioned above have been tested). So, the S.A.F.E. Car list is not inclusive of all vehicles that otherwise might be eligible because the data do not exist.

What is included are many of the most popular new cars on the road today. Both IIHS and NHTSA officials say they perform most of their crash tests on only the most popular vehicles due to budgetary constraints (IIHS is funded by the insurance industry and NHTSA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation). For example, the best-selling Ford Taurus, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry are tested almost every year.

Both organizations point out that vehicle manufacturers can pay to have their vehicles tested by their respective organizations if they so choose.

"Good" in the IIHS's overall frontal-offset crash test performance rating (on a scale of "Poor," "Marginal," "Acceptable," and "Good")

Five stars in NHTSA's frontal-impact crash tests and four or five stars in NHTSA's side-impact crash tests (on a scale of one to five stars), meaning a 10 percent or less chance of serious injury.

Also, because SUVs and pickup trucks are more than twice as likely to be involved in rollovers, according to NHTSA, these types of vehicles must score no lower than four stars in NHTSA's rollover resistance rating (on a scale of one to five stars), meaning a 20 percent or less chance of a rollover in a one-car accident.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mentions are awarded to vehicles tested by both IIHS and NHTSA that receive ratings of:

"Good" or "Acceptable" in the IIHS's overall frontal-offset crash test performance rating.

A minimum of four stars in NHTSA's frontal-impact crash tests and a minimum of three stars in NHTSA's side-impact crash tests, meaning a 20 percent or less chance of a serious injury.

A minimum of three stars in NHTSA's rollover resistance rating, meaning a 30 percent or less chance of a rollover in a single-vehicle accident.

Vehicles are reviewed for inclusion in the S.A.F.E. Car Program throughout the model year as new crash tests are completed.

Last Updated Dec. 13, 2006

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