Which one of these cars are the safest, and which one should I get?

On your list there is only one choice, the SAAB 9-5. Safest car on the road today, according to REAL LIFE crash statistics, no rigged tests, just real life.

'Saab 9-5, year model 98- is the safest car model in Sweden in the "How safe is your car?" report conducted by Swedish insurance company Folksam.

Saab 9-5 is the only one among the totally 103 ranked models which has a safety level that is at least 40% better than the average model in the Folksam investigation.'

I don't know where you are going to get any of those cars for the money you have to spend... at least not around here (Ontario) you would.

I'd say the S80 Volvo would be the best car out of that group... As it is large in mass, and has a full set of safety systems... Those 5 star tests have to be taken with a grain of salt too.... If you crash at higher then

That $12,000 you want to spend will probably cover the cost of getting those things you mentioned added to any car, AFTER you buy the car of course. ;)

mike hunt

The Diesel wrote:

Snipped war and peace... rest assure if you go through this much thought process to buy a car you will be hit by a mack truck at an intersection and it eon't matter what car you bought. Every car you mentioned is very safe. Buy the one you like and drive for petes sake.

Brad

I wish roads were banked on all turns so I could take them at higher speeds. I also wish someone at work was there to give me a fresh bottle of milk every time I broke a speed record getting to work.

But everyone knows that cars with suspension set for the US market don't go round corners. :)

It amuses me when I see signs on US on/off ramps that indicate that the maximum speed is 20 mph or whatever, that's a 60 mph bend here.

David.

You are focusing on the right thing, car safety. Roughly half of the costs of road traffic is caused by injuries and deaths, and it is smart to consider it as the main factor in buying a car. None of the cars are "safe", some are only less dangerous than other.

Probably the best place to look at is in insurance records. Some cars have strange qualities that keep them away from harm's way, and you may be able to spot them from the records.

Highway loss data institute publishes these records every now and then. It is sponsored by insurance companies and I suppose that their main interest is to guide the consumers to buy cars that produce less insuries, and less reimbursement. However, it is common sense to compare these records with other results, such as the crashworthiness tests by various car manufacturers and various institutions.

Make sure that the centerpoint of the gravity is low. You do not want to roll over in the car in highway speeds.

Well, I did say that some of the cars were a little out of my price range, but these 4 used cars can certainly be gotten for under $12,000 American dollars if you don't mind a car with a few miles on it.

Well, I did forget to mention one thing, but there are also 3 other negatives about the 1999/2000 Volvo S80 that I forgot to mention. In the IIHS front offset crash test, the gasses that came out of the front airbag were VERY HOT, they were so hot that they melted the hands of the dummy. I guess wearing driving gloves just in case is a good idea if you drive a 1999/2000 Volvo S80, I think that Volvo did fix that problem in the 2001 and later models. The 2nd problem was that the airbags in the 1999/2000 deployed even in VERY minor low speed crashes, again this problem too was probably fixed in the 2001 and later models. The 3rd problem with the 1999/2000 Volvo S80 was that in the front offset crash test, after the first impact of the dummy's head with the front airbag, the head bounced backwards and hit the B pillar instead of hitting the headrest. I don't know if this problem has been fixed in the 2001 and newer models, but it may have been. Even after all that being said and with the reliability reputation that the S80 has, I'm still leaning towards it.

Well, Golfs, Jettas, and Passats certainly are among the safest cars out there and I think the Passat was named one of the 5 safest cars ever in 2001. The 2004 Jetta with Side Air Bags for example got 22 out out of 25 total stars which is probably better than 99% of the cars out there, but first of all I can't afford the new one, and the main reason I didn't include the Jetta or Golf on my cars to consider was that they got 4 stars in the side impact for the front seat. Now I'll have to look at the numbers more carefully since not all 4 stars are created equal, some 4 stars are actually like a 4.8 star, while other 4 stars are like a 4.0 star. For example when I look at the numbers for the rollover resistance of the 2003 Honda Accord Coupe, it says it's 4 stars, but when you actually look at the numbers, it's actually more like 4.8 or 4.9 stars, while the Toyota Matrix also got 4 stars in the rollover resistance test, but the Matrix got more like 4.0 stars when you look closely at the numbers. The 2003 Honda Accord Coupe got a Static Stability Factor or 1.44, while the Toyota Matrix got a Static Stabiliy Factor of 1.30, yet they both got a 4 star rollover resistance rating, if the Accord had gotten a SSF rating of 1.45, then it would have gotten 5 stars in rollover resistance.

I'll have to look closely at the numbers and see if I'm overlooking some of the cars that I should be considering because they got a 4.9 star instead of a 5.0 star. I think they have to start changing the whole star system to smaller increments to show a more accurate view of the actual data.

Don't "go round" corners? Or don't "do" round corners? Or maybe it's "don't go around corners"! ROFL

LOL

It amuses me when people buy BMW's in the US. You can't drive a BMW in America!

I owned one in Spain and drove it all over Europe. Now that is a good place to drive a BMW.

Here, my '92 Corolla is just fine for those '20 mph' off ramp...LOL

Yeah, that's the one, it was early, kids got us up too early and my brain wasn't fully engaged and in sync with the vocab/grammar module. :)

I was taking a US visit down an English country lane (single track) at the usual and legal 60mph, the knuckles were going white on his hands and he asked "is this a two way street?" (street not really being the right word but that didn't matter),

I said "sure!"

He said "what happens when someone comes the other way?"

To which I said "well, we try and miss each other!"

:)

Add the usual 90 degree first/second gear corners and *that's* what makes for an enjoyable drive.

It's interesting to note the level of interest and discussion about roll over accidents. I can't think of that being a major issue at all in the UK. Is that down to stiffer suspension, smaller, lower cars instead of the prevalence of SUV's? Or just that people don't tend to be T boned at large intersections in the same way?

David.

The safest car is the one that doesn't have guys like these people driving them.

RS

David Taylor wrote:

Depends on the State. Some set more realistic ramp/road speeds than others. Regardless, I always consider it my duty to lead other drivers into the ramp way too fast just to see if they are paying attention. :-)

It's not in the USA either. Very few cars roll over. Some SUV's do but that's because the drivers think they're in a car. The OP is way to concerned about things that rarely happen.

Hey brother David - the issue over here is the *extensive* system of 75mph (which everyone drives at 80-85mph) high crested highways on fairly steep embankments.

For the most part you have to sets of two lanes separated and surrounded by about 8 feet of gravel shoulder followed by 5-10 feet of deep wet ditch. Not a lot of guard rail unless you are crossing bridges or on an older highway.

Once you are across a shoulder, it is most likely you are rolling over as your machine digs into the muck and gravel that makes up the embankment. It matters not what you are driving.

The upside is that you car isn't solidly hitting a run of rail (which the driver is liable for in Canada) and you mostly come to sliding stop on the roof rather than anything really sudden (at least in the SAAB). The downside is that once you are over the shoulder - you are committed to the whole rather exciting trip.

As to SUV's - I've owned one and needed it when I had it, they are as bad or good as the wetware. I'm more ticked they managed to get the bumper height rules changed several years ago and now all new cars are legislated for side curtain airbags (several hundred dollars a pop) as a result.

You don't know shit about how I drive so shut the f*ck up.

But you'd be correct had you said that the safest car is the one that doesn't move at all.

Thank you, that's what I figured.

I know the feeling, I took a very sharp bend the other week and forgot that I was in my 2.0 CD and not my Aero, had to do a bif of quick "corrective" steering. :)