Safest small SUV: Nissan Qashqai
The Qashqai's fantastic five-star safety rating makes it an attractive proposition to family buyers
The original Nissan Qashqai was one of the first cars to cash in on the boom in popularity of small SUVs and crossovers when it was launched in 2007. Now in its third generation, the Qashqai once again finds itself with a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
What’s more is that Nissan has evidently worked hard to make the latest Qashqai as appealing as ever to families, with a score of 87% for child occupant safety and 94% for the adults – two very impressive scores.
The Qashqai’s array of on-board safety technology earned it a whopping 95% Safety Assist score. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Driver Attention Alert, and a camera-based speed-assistance system all feature as standard. Lane-keep assist also features and scored the highest possible score in this particular NCAP test, proving highly capable of intervening effectively during critical situations.
Passenger safety was the lowest of the individual scores at 70%, but this is still a respectable result. The AEB system has the ability to function when the Qashqai is reversing, but only when fitted with the optional reversing camera, resulting in a lower score.
Safest small SUV - previous winners
- 2020: No winner
- 2019: Subaru Forester
- 2018: No winner
- 2017: Volkswagen T-Roc
- 2016: Volkswagen Tiguan
- 2015: Mercedes GLC
- 2014: Land Rover Discovery Sport
- 2013: Jeep Cherokee
- 2012: No winner
- 2011: No winner
- 2010: Kia Sportage
