Top 10 Safest Cars of 2011
When it comes to buying a new car, one of the top priorities for any buyer is the safety of the vehicle. Many aspects are taken into consideration to showcase the safety features and performance of the vehicle.
Aspects to Consider of a Safe Car
The following aspects are what is taken into consideration to value and determine the overall safety of each new vehicle that comes to market:
1. The amount of safety equipment that is used on the vehicle. For example, the use of curtain air bags, anti lock brakes, traction control, stability control, and any other type of safety equipment put into place by that particular manufacturer.
2. Safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that is administered on each vehicle on the market.
3. Real life evidence of the safety should be taken into consideration as well.
Safety Administration Tests
When looking at all that the Safety Administration tests,the person will find that this is accomplished through:
- Front impacts are done through running the car into a barrier to simulate what the crash would look like if the car were to get into a crash with a similar weight sized car.
- Side impacts use the same barrier however, they crash this into the car to see what the damage would be in this sort of situation.
- Rollover tests are confirmed through driving the vehicle at high speeds, monitoring how balance is affected when the car makes a quick turn and just how the center of gravity is affected by this.
Real Life Safety
When looking at a car, real life situations to take into consdieration:
- Safety related recalls on the car
- Amount of accidents in which drivers or passengers were injured or killed
- And the final consideration to make when wanting to find that safe car is just how these cars are ranked by the insurance company. Safer cars usually mean lower rates since they are not viewed as such of a hazard for the company to ensure.
How to Find a Safe Car
Those that are wanting to find a safe car are going to find that they have endless options as to how to obtain the information that they are needing about the car in question before they buy.
1. Check with the dealer that has the car on their lot. More times than not the dealer will have all the safety information that is present about the car and ready to pull this out to you in order to confirm your decision to buy. In fact, the car should have a sticker displaying the various safety components that are installed in the car.
2. Check online about each car that you are considering buying. You will find that you can find consumer reviews that may also speak of the safety that the car has to offer from those that actually drive the car, which is a great source of information.
Top Ten Safest Cars for 2011
The following are the top ten cars of 2011, in no particular order:
1. Honda Civic
- Anti-lock brakes with an electronic brake distribution
- Advanced Compatibility Engineering in body frame
- Breakaway feature
2. Ford Fiesta
- IIHS award (first small car to receive this)
- Airbags
- Lightweight steel holds up well during a collision
3. Hyundai Sonata
- Five-star safety rating
- Six air bags
- Improved brake force distribution to make for faster stopping
- Electronic stability control
4. Subaru Forester
- Low center of gravity which means less chance of turnover rate
- All wheel drive
- Strong construction
5. Buick Lacrosse
- On Star system
- Adaptive headlights
- Radar system
- Stability control
- Heads up display for drivers to keep eyes on the road
6. Volvo XC60
- Automatic brake when detecting accidents or objects in front of car
- Collision warning system
- Roll over sensors
- Lane and blind spot warning system
- Descent control
7. Toyota Sienna
- Rear camera installed
- Collision warning system
- Integrated brake and steering system
- Auto brake when sensing danger ahead
8. BMW 5 Series
- Five star rating
- Blind spot warnings
- Adaptive cruise
- Assist system to warn authorities if involved in an accident
9. Volkswagen Jetta Sports Wagon
- High visibility
- High crash ratings scores
- Stops with tons of precision
- Differential locks control
- Stability control
10. Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Active head restraints
- Full side air bags
- Trailer sway control
- Over 45 safety setting in place total throughout the vehicle
How to Choose Your New Safe Car
These ten cars are great choices for anyone that wants to make sure that they have something that is going to offer them reliability and protection for themselves and their entire family. In choosing which one of these cars to make their own, people should take into consideration:
- Price of the vehicle
- The individual safety features that are being offered
- What safety features are mandatory per their own personal preference
- Whether they are brand loyal to any brand out there
- The overall safety ratings that have been given to the car via NHTSA
- And the way that the car feels to them personally
The person should take these for a test drive and work from there, as they will find that an actual test drive is about the only way to ensure that they are going to be happy with their selection.
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