2022 Used Car Safety Ratings for safer used car choices

The latest used vehicle safety information has been released, helping those in the market for a used car make an informed purchasing choice.

The ratings are based on Monash University Accident Research Centre’s statistical analysis of police-reported crashes for more than 9 million vehicles across Australia and New Zealand.

For the 2022 Used Car Safety Ratings 389 vehicle models were analysed based on their relative Driver Protection safety performance (crash-worthiness). 55 were allocated a 5-star rating with 13 of these awarded ‘Safer Pick’ status - included:

  • Mercedes Benz E-Class W212/C207/A207 (2009-2016)
  • Audi A5/S5/RS5 (2007-2016)
  • Subaru Liberty/Legacy/Outback/Exiga (2009-2014)
  • Toyota Camry (2017-2020)
  • BMW 1 Series (2011-2019)
  • Honda Civic (2016-2020)
  • Volkswagen Golf VII (2013-2020)

Some vehicles were also awarded the ‘Safer Pick’ status. These vehicles are available with driver assist technologies that have been proven based on Vehicle Safety Research Group (VSRG) research to reduce crash risk by rigorous evaluation and is widely available in the fleet. The safety features included Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) (a new criterion for 2022), and Reversing assist technology (either reversing sensors, a reversing camera or both). ‘Safer Pick’ vehicles also posed the lowest risk of death or serious injury to other road users with which they collide.

The Commercial Vans, Commercial Utes, Medium SUV, and People Mover segments offered a number of five-star models, yet none qualified as a ‘Safer Pick’ because they pose a relatively high injury risk to other road users with which they collide There were no five-star models within the Small SUV and Light Car segments. Being much smaller than most vehicles on the road, these vehicles struggle to provide high levels of injury protection to their drivers in a crash.

Research lead and MUARC Director, Professor Stuart Newstead said, “The results of our analysis show a large difference in safety performance between the best and worst rated vehicles”.

“The driver of the worst scoring vehicle is over eight times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than the driver in the best scoring vehicle,” Professor Newstead said. “Whilst newer vehicles were generally safer than older vehicles, within each age group and class of vehicle rated there were good and bad performers. It is important for people to check the ratings before buying a used car in order to make a safe choice.”

A full list of Used Car Safety Ratings as evaluated in 2022 can be found here.