2025's safest cars revealed by Thatcham

Thatcham Research has shortlisted the 10 safest cars currently available, revealing the contenders for the 2025 What Car? Safety Award.

The vehicles were chosen by Thatcham Research, Euro NCAP and What Car? judges based on Euro NCAP safety test scores alongside other criteria such as expected market volume.

With modern cars setting new performance standards across an ever more exacting range of collision scenarios, the judges also carefully considered how Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) were implemented on the shortlisted vehicles. Judges assessed how accurate the systems were, how they provided information to the driver and whether they were implemented collaboratively.

Richard Billyeald, chief research & operations officer at Thatcham Research, said: “Modern ADAS technology offers a range of safety benefits for drivers, whether through systems such as ISA keeping the driver informed of the local speed limit or AEB mitigating the risk of frontal collision.

“In recent years, systems such as LKA have received criticism for intruding into the driving experience, leading some motorists to disable the function due to annoyance.

“It’s crucial for all ADAS features to be properly implemented to reduce the number of false positives, only activating when required.

“The Lane Support Systems found in this year’s shortlist benefit from improved real-world performance when compared to the previous generation. Thanks to the efforts of vehicle manufacturers ADAS technology continues to mature.

“While it’s true that there is variation in implementation and that drivers will find some systems to be more intrusive than others, the fundamental objective of ADAS is to reduce crashes and save lives.

“There are many competing safety imperatives for carmakers to contend with, from designing front end structures that are compatible with other vehicles and consider Vulnerable Road User safety to striking the right balance between achieving good ADAS performance during testing and in the real world. The good news is that the vehicles in the What Car? Safety Award shortlist broadly demonstrate that it is possible to implement ADAS effectively without compromising the driving experience.”

2025 What Car? Safety Award shortlist (in alphabetical order):

Audi Q6 e-tron

Mazda CX-80

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Mini Countryman

MG HS

Skoda Kodiaq

Toyota C-HR

Volkswagen Passat

Volvo EX30