Safest family cars 2026
These are the safest family cars, according to Euro NCAP's latest testing criteria
Few things are as precious as family, so it’s only fitting that your loved ones should be carried around in a five-star car. Of course, the stars we’re talking about here are awarded by Euro NCAP, and only the safest family cars manage to make the top five-star grade.
Making a truly safe family car isn’t just about protecting the adults in the front seats, children in the rear have to be properly protected, and so do pedestrians and other road users. Euro NCAP takes all this into account during its testing process, awarding each car separate percentage scores for adult and child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection and the effectiveness of its safety assistance systems. This gives buyers a clear picture of how well a car will protect their family in a wide range of real-world scenarios.
Not only do these cars boast some of the very best scores when it comes to crash protection and active safety equipment, but our expert road testers truly rate them when it comes to driving and ownership, too.
Volkswagen ID.7
- Prices from £51,000
- Euro NCAP Rating: 5 stars (2023)
- Adult occupant score: 95%
- Child occupant score: 88%
- Vulnerable road users score: 83%
- Safety assist score: 80%
If, like a number of British buyers, you’re considering going electric with your next family car, the Volkswagen ID.7 is one of the safest cars you can currently buy, according to NCAP’s latest testing criteria. If your family doesn’t know the meaning of packing light, you’ll have a minimum of 532 litres of boot space at your disposal, as well as a spacious cabin. If that still isn’t enough, you can opt for the ID.7 Tourer, which is one of only a few fully electric estate cars on the current market. Either way, you’ll be looking at over 300 miles of WLTP combined battery range.
Skoda Superb
- Prices from £36,000
- Euro NCAP Rating: 5 stars (2024)
- Adult occupant score: 93%
- Child occupant score: 87%
- Vulnerable road users score: 82%
- Safety assist score: 80%
Available as a hatchback or estate car, the Skoda Superb is a hugely spacious machine that’ll not only ferry around your family (and their luggage) in comfort, but it’ll keep them well protected, too. The list of advanced safety kit is a substantial one, including lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control. The Superb will keep you protected from the elements when you step out of it, too, as the coveted Skoda umbrella can be found within the driver’s door.
Volkswagen Passat
- Prices from £40,000
- Euro NCAP Rating: 5 stars (2024)
- Adult occupant score: 93%
- Child occupant score: 87%
- Vulnerable road users score: 82%
- Safety assist score: 80%
Now in its ninth generation, the Volkswagen Passat has taken a bit of a step upmarket compared with its predecessors. However, if you can stomach the rather high starting price, the advantage of this added poshness is a refined and comfortable car that’s suited to taking on school runs and motorway commutes in equal measure. There’s plenty of safety kit thrown in as standard, too, although rear passenger airbags are an optional extra.
Latest Volkswagen Passat deals
Safest family car Euro NCAP scores
| Adult occupant | Child occupant | Vulnerable road users | Safety assist | |
| Volkswagen ID.7 | 95% | 88% | 83% | 80% |
| Skoda Superb | 93% | 87% | 82% | 80% |
| Volkswagen Passat | 93% | 87% | 82% | 80% |
| BYD Seal 6 | 92% | 90% | 84% | 85% |
| Tesla Model Y | 91% | 93% | 86% | 92% |
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