The Safety Verdict is in: The car company currently making the overall safest vehicles is, according to Consumer Reports (CR), Mazda.
The Japanese automaker finished ahead of luxury/premium brands Genesis, Acura and Lincoln in the outlet’s Safety Verdict assessment that ranked 29 automotive brands present in North America. A couple of other notable takeaways: Volvo, Toyota and Lexus all finished well back, in 12th, 14th and 15th respectively. And to find the best-ranked mass-market American brand, you have to scroll down to 19th spot, where sits Chevrolet. Tesla’s poor ranking is due mainly to its interior controls deemed distracting – which also hurt Volvo, by the way.
A myriad of criteria
CR’s assessment involved looking at a myriad of factors, such as the ability to withstand crashes and braking abilities, but also emergency handling, what safety systems are standard and the ergonomics of different commands inside. We’ve come a long way from the days when crash test results were the sole determinant of the level of safety provided by a vehicle.
CR also looked at how well vehicles met the criteria laid out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) federal motor vehicle safety standards, as well as results from the IIHS’ small-overlap front crash tests. Whether vehicles have standard all-wheel drive was another factor taken into account.
Wrote Emily A. Thomas, associate director of auto safety at CR, “A safe car has predictable handling and braking in everyday driving and emergencies, controls that don’t distract you, technology that can prevent a crash in the first place, and a design that protects occupants if a crash occurs.
Here is the full ranking for Consumer Reports’ Safety Assessment Verdict for 2026:
1. Mazda
2. Genesis
3. Acura
4. Lincoln
5. Hyundai
6. Honda
7. Nissan
8. Audi
9. Subaru
10. Kia
11. Buick
12. Volvo
13. Volkswagen
14. Toyota
15. Lexus
16. Mercedes-Benz
17. BMW
18. Cadillac
19. Chevrolet
20. Ford
21. GMC
22. Chrysler
23. Mini
24. Porsche
25. Rivian
26. Tesla
27. Mitsubishi
28. Jeep
29. Land Rover