Safest SUVs to buy 2024
These SUVs are wise investments if the unthinkable happens
Nobody buys a car assuming they’ll crash it, but it’s good to know that if the worst should happen, you’ll be as well protected as possible. That’s why the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) was set up almost three decades ago. This independent body smashes cars up every day of the week, to see how they’ll fare in a collision as well as how effective their standard safety tech is.
The result is an overall rating (up to five stars), plus a percentage score for how well adult and child occupants and pedestrians are protected; the effectiveness of any driver assistance systems fitted are also given a percentage. While a maximum five-star rating is far from unusual, in recent years the ease with which it has been attained has become steadily harder, and now a lot of tech has to be fitted if a low score isn’t to be awarded. All of these cars, though, have attained the top mark, which makes them worth considering this winter.
Safest SUVs to buy
- Audi Q6 e-tron
- Toyota C-HR
- Skoda Kodiaq
- Honda CR-V
- Volkswagen Tiguan
- BYD Seal U
- Smart #3
- Mercedes EQE SUV
- Kia EV9
- Tesla Model Y
Audi Q6 e-tron
- Prices from £60,700
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2024
- Adult occupant: 91 per cent
- Child occupant: 92 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 81 per cent
- Safety assist: 80 per cent
Some people think that an electric car can’t be safe, because the battery pack is vulnerable in a crash. But Euro NCAP has shown that this isn’t the case, although an electric SUV like the Audi Q6 e-tron can pose a problem to other road users, thanks to its generous size and weight.
Theoretically a mid-size SUV, the Q6 e-tron feels bigger than that to the point where you might think it’s a bit unwieldy, but the trade-off is a spacious cabin that’s filled with upmarket materials. Prices start at £60,700, but if you want the twin-motor Sport quattro edition you’ll have to find £68,145 before you fit any options. In return, you get a family-friendly SUV that’s very highly equipped, even in entry-level Sport form.
Toyota C-HR
- Prices from £31,300
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2024
- Adult occupant: 85 per cent
- Child occupant: 86 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 86 per cent
- Safety assist: 79 per cent
An all-new second-generation Toyota C-HR arrived at the beginning of 2024, with 1.8 and 2.0 hybrid, or 2.0 plug-in hybrid powertrains. All come in automatic form with front-wheel drive, so there’s no four-wheel-drive option. It’s harder to make a small car safe than a big one, and while the C-HR is hardly pint-sized, it’s among the more compact models here.
So it’s impressive that the C-HR managed to score 83 per cent and 88 per cent in the adult and child occupant slots respectively. It also has an eye-catching design and is genuinely engaging to drive, plus is efficient and crammed with all of the latest safety tech – although some of this can be intrusive and distracting, as we found when we ran one on our long-term test fleet.
Skoda Kodiaq
- Prices from £36,600
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2024
- Adult occupant: 89 per cent
- Child occupant: 83 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 82 per cent
- Safety assist: 78 per cent
The original Skoda Kodiaq of 2016 was a deeply impressive full-size SUV, so we expected great things from the all-new second-generation car launched in 2023, and we weren’t disappointed. It was good enough to scoop Large SUV of the Year in our 2024 New Car Awards, and Euro NCAP was just as impressed, because it gave the Skoda scores of 89 per cent and 83 per cent for adult and child occupant safety.
There’s a choice of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid models, all of which are well equipped and fabulously practical thanks to the huge boot and roomy cabin. Even better, there are plenty of 4WD models available, for added winter security.
Honda CR-V
- Prices from £45,900
- Euro NCAP rating: 4 stars (standard)/5 stars (Safety Pack)
- Year tested: 2024
- Adult occupant: 85 per cent
- Child occupant: 86 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 76 per cent (standard)/80 per cent (Safety Pack)
- Safety assist: 67 per cent (standard)/79 per cent (Safety Pack)
Euro NCAP has tested the Honda CR-V twice (with and without the Honda Sensing 360 pack) and it achieved four-star and five-star scores respectively. All UK CR-Vs come with the Pack as standard, so we get only five-star cars, but this is an SUV that starts at £45,930 in 2.0 hybrid form and £53,993 as a 2.0 plug-in hybrid, so it’s no bargain.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of your consideration, though, because the CR-V is very well equipped and it has a cabin that’s easy to live with, although disappointingly there’s no seven-seat option. Most models come with an efficient part-time four-wheel-drive transmission, and in PHEV form there’s the promise of up to 51 miles of electric-only driving.
Volkswagen Tiguan
- Prices from £34,000
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2024
- Adult occupant: 83 per cent
- Child occupant: 88 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 84 per cent
- Safety assist: 78 per cent
The third-generation Volkswagen Tiguan was launched last year and tested by Euro NCAP this year. It came away with a five-star rating, but its 83 per cent adult occupant score is lower than you might hope for, bearing in mind Volkswagen’s semi-premium positioning. However, a starting price of £34,000 seems cheap, particularly when you consider that until very recently it was possible to shell out £40,000 for a Vauxhall Corsa; buy further up the Tiguan range and it’s easy to pay over £50,000 though.
Volkswagen offers petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains, with the latter potentially providing spectacular economy. Only the 2.0-litre petrol engine comes with four-wheel drive, but whatever you buy it’ll be refined and well equipped with a roomy cabin, if not quite as much fun to drive as some key rivals.
BYD Seal U
- Prices from £33,000
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2023
- Adult occupant: 90 per cent
- Child occupant: 86 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 83 per cent
- Safety assist: 77 per cent
On a global scale, Chinese brand BYD is achieving great things right now, but it could do with working on its branding. That’s because not only is the Seal available as an electric saloon, it also comes in plug-in hybrid SUV form as the Seal U DM-i. Awkward moniker aside, the Seal impresses with its claimed range of up to 699 miles, including as many as 78 miles on electricity alone.
Competing with the Hyundai Tucson and Volkswagen Tiguan among many others, the BYD is very competitively priced with its £33,000 start point. This buys a well-made mid-sized SUV that’s also well equipped, swift, efficient and practical, but things are spoiled by an unsettled ride and steering that should be sharper.
Smart #3
- Prices from £33,000
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2024
- Adult occupant: 90 per cent
- Child occupant: 86 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 84 per cent
- Safety assist: 85 per cent
Gone are the days when a Smart car stood out from the crowd with its funky design and two-tone colour schemes. Take the Smart #3 for example, which shares much with the Volvo EX30, because both brands are owned by China’s Geely.
The #3 might be a world away from the ForFour that it replaced earlier this year, with its much more anonymous exterior design, but this small family EV appeals with its roomy cabin, engaging driving experience and high Euro NCAP scores, although the build quality could be better and so could the infotainment. The smaller 49kWh battery returns up to 202 miles, while the larger 66kWh pack can cover up to 283 miles on the WLTP combined cycle.
Mercedes EQE SUV
- Prices from £75,500
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2023
- Adult occupant: 87 per cent
- Child occupant: 90 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 80 per cent
- Safety assist: 85 per cent
Mercedes has been one of the leading companies when it comes to safety, because having invented the car almost 140 years ago, the German giant has surely pioneered more technological innovations in this field than any other automotive brand.
You could argue that’s how it should be with the prices it charges, while four-wheel-drive models add at least another five grand. But you do get an electric SUV with some very high Euro NCAP ratings, which is capable of up to 376 miles according to its maker. The Mercedes EQE SUV is also comfortable and refined, fast and can charge at up to 170kW – but it doesn’t offer the engaging driving experience that it should at this price point.
Kia EV9
- Prices from £64,300
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2023
- Adult occupant: 84 per cent
- Child occupant: 88 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 76 per cent
- Safety assist: 83 per cent
The Kia EV9 encapsulates just how far Kia has come in a relatively short space of time, because this seven-seat electric SUV's price goes up to around £77,000 – but if it wore the badges of a premium brand it would cost a lot more.
The thing is, the EV9 can give premium marques a run for their money, which is why in our 2024 New Car Awards it was the runner-up large SUV, and bagged Large Company Car of the Year. Crammed with all of the latest comfort and safety tech, the EV9 has a claimed range of up to 349 miles, with 300 miles possible in reality – but this is a big car, so make sure it isn’t too vast to live with.
Tesla Model Y
- Prices from £47,000
- Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
- Year tested: 2022
- Adult occupant: 97 per cent
- Child occupant: 87 per cent
- Vulnerable road users: 82 per cent
- Safety assist: 98 per cent
Check out the Euro NCAP website and you’ll see that the Tesla Model Y is the safest small SUV ever tested, and it just happens to be an EV. With adult and child occupant scores of 97 per cent and 87 per cent, and those for pedestrians and assistance systems rated at 82 per cent and 98 per cent, the Tesla’s performance is deeply impressive in terms of helping you to avoid a crash, and protecting you if things go wrong.
Of course the Tesla’s talents are much wider than that, because this family-friendly SUV can go for up to 373 miles on a charge, plus it’s roomy, fast, and features some seriously impressive tech. It’s just a shame that the Model Y’s ride is quite so firm.
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