2008 Used Car Safety RankingsSafest vehicles (not all) Small cars:
Volkswagen Golf, 1999-2004
Peugeot 306, 1994-2001
Mazda3, 2003-2006 Medium cars:
Holden Vectra, 1997-2003
Volkswagen Passat, 1998-2005
Saab 9-3, 1998-2002
Subaru Liberty, 1999-2003
Mazda6, 2002-2006 Compact four-wheel drive:
Honda CR-V, 1997-2001
Subaru Forester, 1997-2002 People mover:
Mitsubishi Nimbus, 1999-2003 Commercial van:
Ford Transit, 2001-2005
Used car buyers need to get the newest car they can afford to maximise their safety, according to a real-world review of more than three million serious crashes.
The findings of the 2008 Used Car Safety Rankings show there are safer cars in every price and size class, but that newer models - often with multiple airbags - are almost always the best choice.
The rankings cover 349 vehicle models built since the early 1980s which are compared to similar vehicles involved in crashes in Australia and New Zealand between 1986 and 2006. The results based both on occupant protection and injuries to others, including cyclists and pedestrians.
"You are about eight times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in the worst cars, compared to the best cars," the man who led the study, Dr Stuart Newstead of the Monash University Accident Research Centre, said yesterday.
"The general rule of thumb is that newer is generally better. There are some exceptions, like the Hyundai Getz. A lot of them only had the bare-basic essentials."
But it is possible to buy a top-ranked car for as little as $5000 with many of the safest secondhand cars priced at less than $15,000.
Dr Newstead said the reign by Volvo at the top of the rankings had ended, with brands such as Volkswagen now showing significant safety and a range of individual models doing well in the various classes.
"Volvo used to market predominantly on safety but a lot of people have now caught up. Volkswagen really know what they are doing," he said.
"Certainly, we are seeing a lot more newer cars managing to perform really well."
European and Japanese cars dominated the best performers, with only one locally-made car - the VY-VZ Holden Commodore - making the top group.
"Our findings show 89 vehicle models scoring better than average, with 26 of these models scoring much better than average," Dr Newstead said.
Some of the safest cars in the rankings are the VW Golf and Mazda3 in the small-car class, the medium Holden Vectra and VW Passat, Mitsubishi Nimbus people mover, and Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester in the compact four-wheel drives.
At the bottom of the rankings are cars including the Daihatsu Rocky, Charade and Hi-Jet, Mitsubishi Starion, Holden Camira and Nissan EXA.
The secondhand safety study has been run since 1990 and is now the biggest of its type in the world.