The safest cars in SA!

Vehicle safety is an essential and often overlooked aspect of most vehicles, with price, features, performance and aesthetics often taking pride in consumers' minds. Here are the safest vehicles available locally across key categories!

Sean Nurse

2 Mar 2023 · 15:09Buying a Car

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The Euro NCAP safety programme is considered among the best in the world at evaluating the safety of new vehicles that enter the market. We have therefore had a look through the organization's most recent test results and cross-referenced the vehicles tested with what is available in the South African market to provide you with the safest vehicles tested across several key categories.

Since Euro NCAP updates its testing procedures to ensure ever more stringent safety protocols, the latest ratings are considered valid, meaning that we will only be using the vehicles tested in 2022 and 2023 so far.

Related: Which affordable small car is the safest in South Africa?

Large family car

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

While the locally produced C-Class is not the safest large family car to be tested recently, it is the safest among the products available locally. Its rating is still undeniably impressive, though, with a 93% score for adult occupant safety, an 89% score for child safety, an 80% score for pedestrian safety and 82% for its safety assistance systems.

Bakkie

Ford Ranger/Volkswagen Amarok

The Ranger/Amarok twins are also produced right here in South Africa and are the safest bakkies tested by the organization recently. Their ratings of 84% for adult occupant safety, 90% for child occupant safety, 74% for pedestrian safety and 84% for their safety systems.

Supermini

Volkswagen Polo

The recently updated Polo is yet another product made here in SA which proves to be exceptionally safe. Its rating of 94% for adult occupant safety, 80% for child occupant safety, 70% for pedestrian safety and 70% for its safety assistance systems is commendable.

Large off-road

Land Rover Discovery Sport

The Discovery Sport narrowly beat its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport siblings in the most recent round of testing, making it the safest among the large off-road models sold locally. It scored 84% for adult occupants, 89% for child occupants, 71% for pedestrian safety and 85% for its safety assistance systems.

Image courtesy of MotorPress

Small family car

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic narrowly beat the Volkswagen Golf during the evaluation process with scores of 89% for adult occupant safety, 87% for child occupant safety, 82% for pedestrian safety and 83% for its safety assistance systems.

Small off-road

Mercedes-Benz GLC

Despite being aged, the recently updated GLC was tested again by Euro NCAP where it narrowly beat the all-new BMW X1, with scores of 92% for adult occupant safety, 90% for child occupant safety, 74% for pedestrian safety and 84% for its safety assistance systems.

Executive

Mercedes-Benz EQE

Mercedes-Benz has launched a variety of all-electric models locally, one of which is the EQE, which also happens to be the safest executive car currently sold in South Africa with crash test scores of 95% for adult occupant safety, 91% for child occupant safety, 83% for pedestrian safety and 81% for its safety assistance systems.

Written by Sean Nurse

With a lifelong passion for cars, bikes, and motorsport, Sean knew that attaining a degree in journalism would allow him to pursue his passion, which was to be a motoring journalist. After graduating in 2012, Sean was awarded a bursary from the SAGMJ which allowed him to work for a variety of motoring publications. This was a dream come true for Sean, and after a year of gaining vital industry experience, he was hired as a motoring journalist at a local newspaper and worked his way up to editor. In 2020, Sean joined the AutoTrader team and counts himself lucky to wake up and genuinely love what he does for a living.Read more

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