These are the safest used cars for young drivers
Data shows young drivers are more likely to be killed in older cars, but how old is too old? And which models are safest? We find out.
The first few years behind the wheel of a car are a high-risk period for young people, with those aged between 17 and 25 making up almost 20 per cent of the nation's road toll in 2023.
Unfortunately, the only way for young people to become better, safer drivers is to practise driving – ideally in a safe car with proper supervision.
While parents and caregivers can often provide the supervision part for free, the safe car part can be a little harder to come by, with budgets often restricting learner drivers to older family cars.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing – with recent research from the University of New South Wales finding young drivers have a 30 per cent greater risk of crashing in their first year of driving if they drive their own car compared to those who borrow the family car.
“The first 12 months after licensing is the most dangerous time for young drivers, and having unlimited access to a car in this period can increase their risk of crash,” study co-author Professor Rebecca Ivers said.
So if the learner driver or P-plater in your life is hitting the road, how do you ensure they're choosing the safest possible used car?
Here's what you need to know.
The newer the car, the safer the driver
The data shows that young people are more likely to die in an older car than in a newer car.
According to 2022 data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE), 36 per cent of road deaths in the 17–25 age group occurred in a car between 15 and 19 years old, while 27 per cent occurred in a car 20 years old or more.
Conversely, new cars less than four years old were under-represented in crash data – involved in 8.5 per cent of road deaths among young people – while cars between five and nine years old were involved in nine per cent of road deaths.
Prior years show a similar trend, but the prevalence of older vehicles in road deaths has gotten worse in recent years, not better.
Carla Hoorweg, the CEO of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), tells Drive newer cars are also more likely to be fitted with the kinds of active safety technology that can prevent a crash altogether.
“Newer five-star-rated vehicles will offer much better levels of physical crash protection, and will likely be fitted with active safety features to help avoid a crash happening, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and/or lane support systems (LSS)," Ms Hoorweg says.
How old is too old?
Your safest bet if you're buying a used car in 2024 is to opt for a car made no earlier than 2018. If that's not possible due to your budget, at least ensure the car has adequate airbags, ABS and ESC – which means buying a model from 2003 or later.
Why? Because ANCAP rates the safety of every model in Australia out of five stars and recommends you choose a vehicle with a five-star safety rating no older than six years.
Additionally, Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) shows a vehicle manufactured in 2021 "reduces the risk of road users being killed or seriously injured by 33 per cent compared to a vehicle manufactured in 2001".
The Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) prevents a car's wheels from locking up under heavy braking, enabling the driver to maintain steering control in an emergency.
ABS as we know it today first appeared on a production car in the late 1970s, when Mercedes-Benz offered it on the W116 S-Class, but it only became mandatory on new cars in Australia from 2003 – so you can safely assume used cars from 2003 onwards will feature this potentially life-saving system.
Meanwhile, Electronic Stability Control (often called ESC or ESP) uses sensors to detect a loss of stability and can then moderate engine output and braking to bring the car under control.
ANCAP made ESC a mandatory requirement for achieving a five-star ANCAP rating in 2008, but it only became mandated in all new cars under Australian Design Rules in 2012.
Another useful safety technology is Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), which can independently and automatically apply the vehicle's brakes if it detects an obstacle ahead.
While ANCAP has encouraged the fitment of AEB to cars since 2012, it only became compulsory on newly introduced models in March 2023.
Obviously, airbags are another essential and ANCAP recommends driving a car with a minimum of frontal, side and curtain airbags.
The safest used cars for young drivers
As a minimum, look for a used car that received a five-star safety rating from ANCAP when it launched.
To help you narrow down the list, each year the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) releases its Used Car Safety Ratings, ranking 518 models based on their performance in real-world crashes over a 34-year period.
Below are the top-performing cars from the 2023 list, all of which achieved five stars across four key safety assessment categories in alphabetical order:
- Audi A4/S4/RS4/A4 Allroad (MY 2008–2015)
- Honda CR-V (MY 2017–2021)
- Honda Odyssey (MY 2013–2021)
- Jeep Cherokee (MY 2014–2021)
- Kia Cerato (MY 2018–2021)
- Land Rover Range Rover Sport (MY 2005–2013)
- Mazda 3 (MY 2013–2019)
- Mazda 6 (MY 2012–2021)
- Mazda CX-3 (MY 2015–2021)
- Mazda CX-5 (MY 2017–2021)
- Mazda CX-9 (MY 2016–2021)
- Mitsubishi Outlander (MY 2012–2021)
- Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (MY 2015–2021)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class (MY 2009–2016)
- Subaru Impreza/XV (MY 2016–2021)
- Toyota C-HR (MY 2016–2021)
- Toyota Camry (MY 2017–2021)
- Toyota Corolla (MY 2018–2021)
- Toyota RAV4 (MY 2019–2021)
- Volkswagen Tiguan (MY 2016–2021)
You can also check the safety credentials of your particular family car by heading to HowSafeIsYourCar.com, which lists ANCAP scores, used car safety ratings and crash-test performance results for most models dating back to the 1990s.