Top 10 Safest Cars to Drive in 2024

But even within these respected brands, only a few vehicles earn the top spots in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety picks.

The IIHS awarded 22 cars its Top Safety Pick+ status, while 49 earned Top Safety Pick. These awards mean that the cars have good ratings in all crash tests, as well as acceptable or good ratings in pedestrian crash tests.

So, what are the top 10 safest cars to drive in 2024? Let’s look at them in more detail.

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1. Acura Integra

With a Top Safety Pick+ award, this small luxury sedan is packed with safety features. You’ll find automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, automatic high beams and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. Upgrade to one of the higher trim models and you’ll also get front and rear parking sensors.

Although it’s a little loud on freeways, and certainly not in the slightest bit sporty in its standard trim, the Integra offers a lot for the money, with plenty of luxury features and great fuel efficiency.

2. Hyundai Elantra

Not as ubiquitous on the road as its compact sedan rivals, the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, the Elantra is a comfortable car offering impressive fuel economy and a smart interior. Scoring highly in all crash tests except for the updated moderate overlap front test (where it only received a marginal score), the Elantra is a Top Safety Pick winner.

Standard safety features include driver-attention warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, pedestrian detection, high-beam assist, and blind-spot and rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist. You’ll also have the option to add in other features, such as a 360-degree camera, parking sensors, adaptive cruise control with stop and go capability, and even a semi-autonomous highway driving feature.

3. Mazda 3

Mazda is known for producing reliable cars, with the Mazda 3 being no exception. And it’s no slouch on the safety front either, earning a Top Safety Pick+ award and arriving with multiple safety features. The standard Mazda 3 comes with blind-spot monitoring, rear-cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop and go capability, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, and driver-attention alert. Move up through the trims and you’ll find front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree camera, and emergency braking.

This is a fabulous little car, available as both a sedan and hatchback, and offers a refined feel with a lovely interior. Note, though, that it’s a bit cramped in the back, so larger bodies may want a more generously sized option.

4. Mercedes-Benz C-Class

As you’d probably expect from a Mercedes, the C-Class compact sedan is a premium model. The design is flawless, there’s plenty of room in the back, and it feels extremely stable, even at high speeds. But it’s a little sluggish to drive and, despite its Top Safety Pick rating, the brake pedal feels disturbingly squishy. Fortunately, one of the safety features is automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, so you can rest assured that the car will stop when needed.

Other features are blind-spot assist, driver-attention warning, and adaptive high beams. There are also plenty of other safety features available, if you want to pay for them, such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-change assist, and active brake assist with turning and cross-traffic function.

5. Subaru Impreza

Now in its sixth generation, the Impreza has been around the block a few times. The lineup is a little smaller these days, with no option for a sedan body – although there is a RS variant that’s more powerful and great fun both on and off-road.

Earning a Top Safety Pick, the Impreza has high-beam assist along with Subaru’s EyeSight suite. This includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with lane centering, and lane departure and sway warning. Blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, and rear cross-traffic alert are optional on the middle trim, and standard if you upgrade to the top trim.

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Top 6-10 Safest Cars to Drive in 2024

These are the next safest cars to drive in 2024, with the safety features they come with.

6. Toyota Prius / Prius Prime

• Top Safety Pick+ award
• Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection
• Full-speed adaptive cruise control
• Lane-departure alert with steering assist
• Road-sign assist
• Automatic high beams
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert
• Standard lane-change assist, parking sensors, 360-degree camera available as upgrades

7. Honda Accord

• Top Safety Pick+ award
• Automatic emergency braking
• Adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow
• Lane-departure warning
• Lane-keep assist
• Automatic high beams
• Blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert
• Parking sensors available as an upgrade

8. Hyundai Ioniq 6

• Top Safety Pick+ award
• Adaptive cruise control
• High-beam assist
• Blind-spot warning
• Rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Speed limit assist
• Driver-attention warning
• Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Semi-autonomous driving system with stop and go adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping available as an upgrade
• 360-degree camera standard on higher trims

9. Toyota Camry

• Top Safety Pick+ award
• Adaptive cruise control
• Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection
• Lane-departure alert with steering assist
• Automatic high beams
• Road sign assist
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and front and rear park assist with automatic braking available as upgrades

10. BMW 5 Series

• Top Safety Pick award
• Front collision mitigation
• Active blind-spot detection
• Lane-departure warning
• Parking sensors
• Parking assistant
• Hands-free highway driving assistant available as an upgrade