Interesting take on safety
 

What’s folks opinion on this article:

https://securityboulevard.com/2021/1...-of-the-water/

Do you think Volvo is still top dog for safety?

of course it is .....

With the Tesla deaths , its giving the general public access to racing car performance on the public roads which they are not used to , hence so many deaths . That is also the reason volvo have added the 112 mph speed limiter ... you are dead with any incident over that speed anyway.

I'd say that another factor is the kind of people and behaviour that certain marques attract.
It's a lot easier to have an excellent safety record if you have a greater proportion of drivers who are risk averse and generally avoid perilous behaviour in the first place.

The best safety is prevention and that starts with the driver.

Without doubt Volvo still leads safety, agree with all the points above.

But I think the article is misleading, of all the popular electric cars, Tesla is the one sold as a performance exec saloon, most of the others are local commuting focused smaller hatchbacks like the Leaf etc. and I notice they have omitted the Korean manufacturers (Kia, Hyundai) who's electric models are selling well in the UK. With the benefit in tax breaks and lower lease costs of Tesla's it's easy to find sales reps in them instead of a 320D BMW with the obvious consequences. Jaguar makes similar cars to Tesla but they're still a cottage industry in terms of numbers.


Having driven a couple briefly and been carried in them - I personally think Tesla's a crap. The build quality is poor, and the desire of Tesla to control and track everything and prohibit non-franchised repairs is borderline anti-competitive. But it has to be said they've done a good job at kick starting the really usable electric car market, and as a novelty the cars are remarkable. But I expect in the next 10 years they will be acquired and re-branded by a major car manufacturer and will disappear along with Rover and Saab. Volvo, VAG, BMW, Mercedes etc, will catch them up and overhaul them - they have much more experience both building and selling cars and it shows.

Am I correct in thinking still that the Mk1 XC90 is still the only mainstream car in the UK where no passenger or driver has died in a car on car collision?

I'm not so sure that Volvo still lead the way safety wise,unless they've upped their game again.I find it strange that for a safety orientated marque neither my '95 960 nor my 2000 V70 have passenger airbags for example.

Marketing. Read my lips, marketing.

I think they used to be the king for safety, but not anymore. A lot of brands have caught up… Skoda, Seat, Mercedes, BMW, Mazda for example have produced cars with 5 star safety ratings. Volvo now have competition.

Volvo do appear on the safest car lists here & there, but not as much as we may think. Yes, they’re a safe car, but there’s alternatives if you research (brand/model varies, so don’t just think by buying a Mazda for example that it’ll have 5 star NCAP rating, as some models do & some don’t).

For a brand who’s core value is safety (Volvo), you’d imagine the safety awards would go to them every single year for a variety of models they produce hands down, but they don’t. That’s surprising really.

On another note, Lexus claim to be the most reliable car manufacturer. They won the award literally every year, so that statement is almost as true as you can get (they didn’t win it one for year fairly recently). Volvo are clinging onto their safety moto & still claim to be the safest brand… this isn’t the case because they aren’t winning awards consistently for the safest small car, medium car etc.

Safe brand in general? Yes
King of safety? Not anymore

Niether does my 1977 Triumph Spitfire...

I wouldn't assume that from an owner & driver perspective that any car is less safe than another because it gets a lower score in the EURO NCAP or other tests. Over the years those test have been expanded to cover many other aspects above and beyond the physical strength and performance of a car in an impact - such as driver alert systems, partly autonomous controls and pedestrian safety. As such, a Chieftain Tank would probably score poorly compared to say 2010 XC70. I'm not saying these aspects to the tests aren't important, but I have a sense they have been over prioritised in the overall score which means the results are less relevant from an owner/driver point of view.

Just my thoughts...

There is much more to car safety than NCAP ratings , volvo were never too worried about having to comply with them when they were first announced . they just carry on with doing it their way and SET and exceed the NCAP standards .... Whilst Renault had to Build their cars to pass the particular NCAP Tests for example ,they made a big thing of it in their adverts . they never exceeded them or innovated things particularly themselves ..
I have never heard Volvo compare their safety with other brands .