America’s Safest Cars

There are many measures to determine car safety, and one is to examine driver death rates per vehicle. Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released this week identified the safest cars on the road based on this measure.

Of the 15 cars with the lowest death rates, every one is either a large luxury cars or an SUV. Meanwhile, most of the models that have the highest driver fatality rates are small cars with structures that are less able to absorb the brunt of crashes. Five of the 10 cars with the most driver fatalities are hatchbacks, while three are small sedans. ,

According to IIHS, 4-door minicars have the worst death rate at 87 per 1 million registered vehicles, while 4-wheel drive large luxury SUVs have the lowest with six driver deaths per 1 million registered vehicles.

The data come from IIHS, a nonprofit research organization funded by auto insurers. The IIHS measured over 200 vehicles — 2014 models or equivalent — between 2012 and 2015. Only vehicles with at least 100,000 registered vehicles between 2012-2015 were considered.

Click here to see America’s 15 safest cars.
Click here to see the deadliest cars in America.

15. Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 5
> Parent company: Daimler AG
> Type: Large luxury car
> U.S. sales YTD: 16,735

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14. Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan 2WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 4
> Parent company: Daimler AG
> Type: Large luxury car
> U.S. sales YTD: 16,375

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13. Ford Explorer 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 4
> Parent company: Ford Motor Company
> Type: Midsize SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 74,442

12. Lexus RX 350 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 2
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corporation
> Type: Midsize luxury SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 27,325

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11. Audi A6 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: The Audi Group
> Type: Large luxury car
> U.S. sales YTD: 5,186

10. BMW 535i/is 2WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: BMW Group
> Type: Large luxury car
> U.S. sales YTD: 9,754

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9. BMW 535xi 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: BMW Group
> Type: Large luxury car
> U.S. sales YTD: 9,754

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8. Audi Q7 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: The Audi Group
> Type: Large luxury SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 10,570

7. Lexus CT 200h
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corporation
> Type: Midsize luxury car
> U.S. sales YTD: 2,486

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6. Lexus RX 350 2WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corporation
> Type: Midsize luxury SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 27,325

5. Mercedes-Benz M-Class 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Daimler AG
> Type: Midsize luxury SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: N/A

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4. Jeep Cherokee 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
> Type: Midsize SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 54,838

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3. Mazda CX-9 2WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Mazda Motor Corporation
> Type: Midsize SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 8,432

2. Toyota Tacoma Double Cab long bed 4WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corporation
> Type: Small pickup
> U.S. sales YTD: 60,499

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1. Volkswagen Tiguan 2WD
> Fatalities per million registered vehicles: 0
> Parent company: Volkswagen AG
> Type: Small SUV
> U.S. sales YTD: 13,150