This article was sourced from: MUARC Latest Used Car Safety Ratings help motorists make safer used car choices
The latest used vehicle safety information has been released, helping those in the market for a used car make an informed purchasing choice.
The 2021 Used Car Safety Ratings provide a Driver Protection star rating for 276 used vehicle models manufactured from 2000 onwards.
The ratings are based on Monash University Accident Research Centre’s statistical analysis of police-reported crashes for more than 8.8 million vehicles.
Some of the highest performing used vehicle models in this year’s analysis – each achieving five-stars and qualifying as a ‘Safer Pick’ – included:
- BMW 1 Series (2011-2019)
- Toyota Prius (2009-2016)
- Audi A4 (2008-2015)
- Subaru Liberty / Outback (2009-2014)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class (2009-2016)
- Ford Kuga (2013-2016)
- Hyundai Santa Fe (2012-2018)
- Audi Q7 (2006-2014)
- Volvo XC90 (2003-2015)
The Commercial Vans, Commercial Utes and People Mover segments offered a number of five-star models, yet none qualified as a ‘Safer Pick’. There were also no five-star models within the Light Car segment.
Research lead and MUARC Acting Director, Associate Professor Stuart Newstead said, “UCSR ratings illustrate the risk of death or serious injury (resulting in hospital admission) to the driver of the vehicle in a crash. Going a step further, vehicles with the ‘Safer Pick’ marker indicate safer choices based on the protection offered to other road users (other vehicle drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists) and the likelihood of being involved in a crash based on the crash avoidance features fitted (electronic stability control and reversing cameras or sensors).”
“The results of our analysis are spread across five star rating bands, or quintiles, where the poorest performing 20% of vehicle models score a one-star UCSR, and the 20% of vehicle models offering the highest relative safety performance score a five-star UCSR.”
“This means that a driver of the worst scoring vehicle is over eight times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than the driver in the best scoring vehicle,” Associate Professor Newstead said.
A full list of Used Car Safety Ratings as evaluated in 2021 can be found here.