For a parent, the safety of your child takes the utmost priority in your mind and it is even more important when picking out the safest car to buy for your family. The car that you pick will determine the safety and comfort of your kids’ while on the road. So, to navigate this tricky road, we’ve made a list of all the safety features that are essential in your family car as well as a list of family friendly cars that you can pick.
Safety Features in a Car
Since nothing is more important than the safety and the wellbeing of your child, here are some car safety features that you should look out for.
- Car Seat Support – Most cars make it fairly easy to get car seats in and out, but if you have multiple young kids at home, you will want to know how many car seats can fit in one row. Most cars made after 2002 come with the built-in ISOFIX system for easy car seat install.
- Collision Warning – These come in various forms and the function of it is to alert you when you are too close to someone in front of you or moving in too quickly. They work not just for other cars, but also for pedestrians who are crossing in front of you. Some will even automatically apply the brakes.
- Blind Spot Monitor – Using sonar sensors in the rear bumpers or sometimes cameras in the exterior mirrors, blind-spot monitoring systems watch adjacent lanes and can alert you to other vehicles that might be in the driver’s blind spot or hidden by the car’s roof pillars. The warning light goes off when someone is in your blind spot.
- Parking Sensors – Sonar sensors in the rear bumpers that let you know when you are getting too close to other vehicles, shopping carts or anything else above a certain height.
- Lane Departure Warning – When you start to slip out of your lane, but your turn signal is not on, this will gently turn your steering wheel back and alert you.
- Adaptive Cruise Control – You can set your maximum speed for Cruise Control and your car will speed up or slow down to keep pace with the car in front of you. It is especially helpful in stop-and-go traffic.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Test
Before you pick your car, how do you know if that particular car is really safe? This is where the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) test comes in handy. IIHS is an organization that performs real-life crash test scenarios and high-end safety system evaluations on a wide array of vehicles which will then be rated accordingly.
They conduct thorough and accurate crash tests and breaks them up in several compartment as below:
- Frontal Crash Tests: A frontal crash is the most common type of car crash that leads to death. IIHS breaks up their frontal crash tests into three parts which include: Moderate overlap frontal test configuration, Driver-side overlap frontal test configuration, and Passenger-side small overlap frontal test configuration.
- Side Crash Test: IIHS designed their side crash tests to better simulate the type of crashes that could happen in the real world.
- Roof Strength Test: IIHS conducts roof strength tests because so many people die every year due to rollovers. When they perform this test, IIHS is testing the roof’s ability to maintain its shape and occupant survival space. If the roof of a vehicle can hold its own, it gives passengers a higher chance of survival and lowers the risk of injury from the roof collapsing on them.
- Head Restraints & Seats Test: These tests are designed to evaluate how well the head restraints work to prevent whiplash in the event of a rear-end collision. IIHS is also testing how effective the head restraints are at lowering the risk of head and neck injury in a crash.
- Front Crash Prevention Tests: These tests help parents determine which systems are most effective for detecting possible collisions. Some of these systems may include an auto brake system or a device that alerts you when you are too close to another vehicle or pedestrian.
- Headlight Evaluation: Evaluating the headlights consists of checking the consistency of illumination when a vehicle is on the road. To do this, IIHS measures the distance that the headlights travel when the vehicle is driving straight and on curves.
- LATCH Evaluation: These tests were modified by IIHS to encourage manufacturers to engineer LATCH systems that are easy to use. There are several things that IIHS looks for when conducting the LATCH evaluation. They include accessibility to lower anchor tethers, force, clearance angle, location, and confusing hardware.
- Verification: This is a process that IIHS goes through with manufacturers to keep parents up to date about redesigned car models and new releases. If the changes made to a model are drastic, then the car must be retested to receive new safety ratings.
You can find out more about these tests here.
Perfect Family Cars
Here are 5 cars that are not only safe, but also perfect for your growing family.
- Honda CR-V – This car is known for being one of the best family cars in Malaysia thanks to its new technology that uses next generation sensing to detect imminent danger and reduce the likelihood of collision, which is great news for any family car. To ensure the safety of its passengers, the car also comes with vehicle stability and cornering stability assist systems, as well as a camera mounted on the side mirrors to ensure that you do not miss out any blind spots when cutting or turning into a lane.
- Toyota Harrier – This dominant car that can be seen frequently on Malaysian roads is also a family favorite as its pre-crash system to help reduce frontal collisions by automatically applying brake pressure in emergency situations. The car also has adaptive cruise controls that helps the car automatically maintain a safe distance with vehicles in front to reduce driver fatigue.
- Mercedes-Benz GLE – This car is perfect for families who likes to go out of the city for weekend adventures as it is Built for both on and off-road driving. This GLE also comes with active lane keeping assist, a heads-up display, the German brand’s Pre-Safe system and attention assist functionality that ensures safety and comfort.
- Honda Accord – Honda Accord is one of the best family cars in the sedan category. Every Accord comes with the standard Honda Sensing suite, including Traffic Sign Recognition with a camera that notifies you of speed limit signs—especially helpful if you have a new young driver in the family.
- Toyota Camry – This Toyota model offers the best combination of quality and value but at an affordable price point. It comes with Toyota Safety Sense-P, a bundle composed of a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with steering assist, automatic high beams, and dynamic radar cruise control.
We hope this guide will help you pick out the best car that is not only safe, but also comfortable for your whole family because we know nothing is more precious than the life of your loved ones. You can check out Carsome’s range of used cars to find your perfect family vehicle. Check the website today to know more.