lrochfort

Hello all,

My wife, son and I are 90% certain we're relocating to San Jose, CA to live near my wife's family. One last approval needed at work, so fingers crossed!

Whilst writing a list of things to consider, cars came up.

We're extremely safety conscious and here in the UK we never buy a car without consulting the EuroNCAP website. Thus far we've had Ford Focuses and Saabs and considered Volvos, all because of their 5 star safety rating.

Now, having visited family in San Jose a lot and driven a selection of domestic cars I'm pretty worried. Frankly a lot of the domestic cars seem like death traps. Additionally, when talking to rental car dealerships and used card dealership if you ask them "Is this a safe car?" they respond: "Yes, it's very reliable". They don't seem to consider safety, nor make or understand the distinction between safety and reliability.

So!

1) Is there a EuroNCAP type site for the US that would cover used cars, say from 2004ish onwards?

2) Would people recommend safe estate/wagon cars available in the Bay Area?

Thanks all!

RoadWarriorFromLP

US crash standards are generally above those of Europe. No need to worry.

Crash testing is conducted by both the government (NHTSA) and the insurance industry (IIHS.) Their tests are somewhat different, with the IIHS tests more closely resembling those tests used by Euro NCAP.

NHTSA: http://www.safercar.gov/Safety+Ratings
IIHS: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings

Pulaski

Your analysis is misguided, as here, as in the UK, cars are rated against other similar sized vehicles and the standards set for them. Your Focus or SAAB would have faired poorly against a big Merc or BMW. The same is true here, US cars are very safe, but if safety is your absolute priority then bigger is almost always safer. That said, trucks and "old fashioned" SUVs built on a chassis don't fair as well as unibody vehicles with crumple zones. Try looking at a new Ford Explorer, which no longer has a chassis, and has fairly car-like handling.

lrochfort

Well, our Saab 9-5 estate is in the same EuroNCAP category as the large German cars and fairs very well.

The Explorer is a good recommendation, thank you.


I suppose we could turn this on its head. Are there any cars to avoid, for either safety or reliability reasons?

sir_eccles

Anything made by GM.

Funstuie

I drove a Nissan Rogue a few weeks back from Hertz. It was quite possibly one of the worst cars I have ever driven. It was cheap and nasty and very uncomfortable. Have no idea of safety ratings. I had a Kia Sportage the next week which was the complete opposite.

If I get to the US I will be getting an SUV just so as not to be on the road in something small next to the humongous cars the natives drive.

lrochfort

That's reassuring, thank you.

Those links are fantastic, just what I was looking for.

lrochfort

Interesting. I drove a Nissan Sentra which was fuel efficient but forgettable. I wouldn't have considered a Kia, I'll take a look.

Pulaski

Korean cars (Hyundais and Kias) shed value rapidly. They might look like good value, but their value drops like a rock. I would not recommend either.

King Gimp

They make reasonable commuter choices though - the warranties on the new ones are good too, just be ready to sell the thing after a few years - it should hold a some value if it comes with the remainder of the factory warranty.

They also make a decent showing in the safety ratings, and the MPG.

That said, I just bought one so I guess I'm biased

Sally Redux

'Safety conscious' and 'California' just don't seem to go together

Pulaski

Maybe he needs bulletproof windows?

Marc_ely

On the way to work it's amazing what you can see people doing in their cars... eating a salad (with a fork), shaving (electric), putting on make-up, and of course... messing about on the phone.

For safety info try MSN: http://autos.msn.com/
If you look in the reviews of cars you get a safety tab listing the cars rating. I don't know the details of the safety testing so I can't comment on whether they are really that useful, but they might help.

lrochfort

That's the thing, the standard of driving really does seem appalling.

xmp

Well, Saab is always the exception to the rule.