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Safest Cars in 2024

2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness
Subaru Forester Wilderness / Credit: Subaru

There are many factors to consider when shopping for a new vehicle, but few things are more important than safety. That’s why we’ve rounded up the safest SUVs, small cars, and pickup trucks sold new. You can have confidence that these vehicles offer the best crash protection and safety technology at a reasonable price.

How We Ranked the Safest Vehicles


Safest SUVs

2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness
Subaru Forester / Credit: Subaru

We highlight the SUVs with the best safety stats from a wide variety of classes, including small, 3-row, and electric.


Safest Pickup Trucks

Toyota Tundra / Credit: Toyota
  1. 2024 Rivian R1T
  2. 2024 Toyota Tundra
  3. 2024 Ford F-150

Safest Small Cars

2022 Mazda3 Sedan Carbon Edition
Mazda3 Sedan / Credit: Mazda
  1. 2024 Mazda3
  2. 2024 Toyota Corolla
  3. 2024 Honda Civic

Next Steps


Safest-Vehicle Lists


Understanding Crash Test Scores

Most mainstream vehicles sold in the U.S. undergo crash testing conducted by two organizations: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

NHTSA gives vehicles up to 5 stars for front and side crash tests and resistance to rolling over. The more stars a car earns, the lower the chance of serious injury to a car’s occupants. NHTSA then compiles an overall score based on those results.

IIHS crash testing is more comprehensive than NHTSA’s, and IIHS periodically adds new tests and requirements. IIHS’ crash test and headlight scores, from best to worst, are Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor. It rates ADAS features as Superior, Advanced, or Basic. Top-performing vehicles can be labeled an IIHS Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+.


How We Ranked the Safest Vehicles

At Carfax, data and value drive our vehicle rankings. We ranked these vehicles based on their crash test rating from NHTSA and IIHS. SUVs with more standard ADAS features, such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind spot warning (BSW), and lane keep assist (LKA), got a boost in scoring.

Our rankings are based on the latest models, but since many of these vehicles have remained unchanged from earlier years, our insights also apply to used models.


If you have questions about this story, please contact us at Editors@carfax.com