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As much as we love sleek styling, dynamic handling, and thrilling acceleration, we appreciate a strong suite of safety gear even more. After all, there may well come a time when maneuverability simply won’t be enough to prevent a crash. That’s when you’ll want your car to be as crash-worthy as possible and outfitted with lots of life preserving technology.
Considering the nature of Nigerian roads and driving habits of Nigerians, we did a bit of research and came up with the safest cars to drive in the country.
1.) Volvo XC90
Top on the list is the Volvo XC90. This Swedish automaker brags with the world safest and most powerful SUV. Volvo says that one third of all fatal and severe injury crashes with passenger cars are single-vehicle accidents, with fatigue, distraction or poor road and weather conditions often playing a role. In an effort to reduce this statistic, Volvo has developed a run-off road protection package that is designed to help keep drivers from leaving the road and protecting them if they do.
2.) KIA Sorento
The 2011 Kia Sorrento 2WD is among 11 different models that reported zero driver deaths in 2011. The car received top grades for front driver side impact and both pole and barrier impact on the sides. The one safety recall for the vehicle involved disc callipers that could break if not properly machined, but Kia quickly took care of that on all affected cars.
3.) Mercedes GL-Class
The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class is the German automaker’s safety system it calls an intelligent drive which is essentially the entire suite of groundbreaking driving safety features you’ll find across the entire vehicle line. The exclusive PRE-SAFE system can sense that a collision might be imminent, and help prepare for it in the precious moments leading up to it. Using a network of sensors (many of them already serving other safety systems in the vehicle) PRE-SAFE can detect certain conditions that suggest an accident is about to occur, such as extreme skidding. It then tightens the front seat belts, adjusts the front head restraints and passenger seat, and can even close the windows and sunroof, all to better prepare the occupants for more effective results from the restraint systems.
4.) Audi A3
Audi’s reputation for safety was not all that spectacular a couple of decades ago. However, that began to change in the early part of the 21st century. The 2009 A3 gets very high safety ratings from all of the bodies that have tested it. By the way, the A4 4WD is a very safe car in its own right. It is also on the 2011 list of cars that recorded no driver deaths.
5.) Honda Odyssey
Minivans are considered family cars, though IIHS recently found most aren’t as safe as they seem. The Honda Odyssey was the only minivan the IIHS tested to earned a “good” overall score, the agency’s best ranking. It’s also a Top Safety Pick+ vehicle. Safety features such as side-impact and curtain airbags, four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes, traction control and an electronic stability system are standard on all models.
6.) Lexus RX 350
The luxurious Toyota brand have in recent years received good safety ratings in the industry. The 2017 model front-passenger seat is designed to detect whether the seat is occupied by an adult or a child, or is vacant. In case the system detects a child or empty passenger seat, the system prevents the passenger’s front, side and knee airbags from being deployed. The front passenger’s airbag features two chambers, creating an indentation in the center impact area that helps to provide occupant protection in a severe frontal collision.
7.) Acura MDX
The 2016 Acura MDX is offered with collision mitigation warning and autonomous braking, lane keep assist to keep the Acura in its lane should the driver fall inattentive for any reason, and a vehicle stability system. This is also good for monitoring rear cross traffic to detect objects approaching from the sides of the MDX at the rear. You’ll also find antilock disc brakes, front-seat side airbags, side curtain airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, active front head restraints, and traction and stability control.
8.) Mitsubishi Outlander
Mitsubishi supplies its refreshed 2016 Outlander crossover utility vehicle to market with a strong array of safety equipment. Among its features are antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, hill-start assist, a driver’s-side knee airbag, front seat side airbags, and side curtain airbags. The Outlander can also be equipped with lane departure warning and a forward collision-warning/mitigation system. As with the systems we’ve detailed previously, the Outlander can stop itself. At speeds below approximately 20 miles per hour, the Outlander first applies light braking to avoid the problem; if the driver still doesn’t get involved, the Outlander will activate full panic braking mode.
9.) Toyota Highlander Hybrid
The Highlander Hybrid highlights what Toyota does best, build reliable, green and safe cars loaded with techy features. It comes with Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and rear parking sensors with integrated backup camera in the standard package. Higher trims come with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control with Pre-Collision System and Lane Departure Alert with Automatic High Beam Headlights, as well as Safety Connect to help stranded drivers out of tough spots.
10.) Honda Accord
Believe it or not, despite being a sub-compact sedan with a small profile, the Honda Accord has been a surprisingly safe vehicle. The 2008 two-door model with side airbags received nearly perfect ratings from all the organisations that tested it. If the car has one drawback, it is an extremely low profile sedan that can be a problem in high-speed impacts.
The safety features above does not necessarily mean the vehicle comes with a high level of speed performance but rather the ratings of the automobile community in Nigeria.
