Why Consumer Reports' List Of The Safest Cars List Skips Subaru

When Consumer Reports (CR) released its database of which brands make nan champion cars for 2025, nan number 1 position was held not by immoderate fancy premium sanction for illustration BMW, Lexus, aliases Porsche — which were classed second, third, and fourth. It was Subaru, with, arsenic CR noted, vehicles that "frequently rank adjacent nan apical of Consumer Reports' Owner Satisfaction and reliability ratings." So erstwhile nan aforesaid squad precocious announced its prime for nan safest cars you tin bargain correct now, you mightiness person expected to spot astatine slightest a Subie aliases 2 successful nan mix. After all, nan champion cars should beryllium beautiful safe, too.

Yet nan full number of Subaru models connected CR's information list, moreover erstwhile you return into relationship nan Legacy sedan that precocious went retired of production, turns retired to beryllium precisely zero. The logic is simply a elemental one, though: Only cars pinch modular blind-spot informing could suffice arsenic a "safest" car, and that's only disposable arsenic an action connected Subarus. It makes consciousness erstwhile you retrieve that those pesky unsighted spots support getting bigger. Anyway, Subaru's EyeSight bundle, which is standard, does characteristic adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure/sway warning, automatic emergency steering, and pre-collision throttle management.

Also required by CR were bully scores successful its ain tests for braking, emergency handling, rollaway protection, and wide usability. Plus, cars had to travel modular pinch not only blind-spot warning, but besides automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and rear cross-traffic alert. Here are nan vehicles that met nan criteria.

The 2025 Toyota Crown is an absorbing capable conveyance moreover earlier we look astatine its information record: CR ranks it arsenic number one overall successful nan large-car category, but it's besides nan only conveyance successful that people – and its lifted thrust tallness and wide style intends immoderate folks see it much of an SUV. We're successful that 2nd campy and had to admit nan Toyota Crown crossover is cool aft our first drive.

As for its CR data, nan Crown put up typically awesome Toyota-style results astir crossed nan board. Notching beardown numbers successful roadworthy testing, predicted reliability, and predicted customer reliability, each complemented by a afloat roster of Toyota Smart Sense 3.0 technologies. Garnering circumstantial CR attraction were nan Crown's modular guardant collision-warning system, which drivers tin set for sensitivity, and its disposable rear automatic emergency braking that's modular connected nan Limited and Platinum trim levels. 

Automatic clang notification comes modular for nan first 10 years of ownership, and that sewage CR's attraction arsenic well. That said, CR further noticed that while nan Crown did gain Top Safety Pick position from nan IIHS, it was tested earlier nan latest information for mean front-overlap crashes was brought into nan picture.

Boxy and beautiful, nan Hyundai Santa Fe and its hybrid related are listed separately successful nan wide CR rankings, pinch only nan second type earning a spot connected nan safest car list. The hybrid is backed by a noticeably higher CR Overall Score that, successful turn, was driven by a overmuch amended driving experience.

The three-row Santa Fe is highlighted by an particularly wide scope of modular information tech that's optional aliases missing connected immoderate rivals. Consider nan Santa Fe's attack to automatic braking: it features that functionality not only erstwhile driving forward, but besides erstwhile it's successful reverse. CR besides singled retired nan Santa Fe for family-friendly safety, which is peculiarly important successful a three-row SUV.

Here, nan Santa Fe's safe-exit and rear-occupant alert systems were marked arsenic cardinal advantages. The first tin pass passengers if a car aliases bicycle is coming up from down erstwhile nan SUV is parked, helping debar imaginable collisions by alerting them to nan threat if they effort to unfastened a door. On nan different hand, nan Santa Fe's compartment didn't look each that well-suited to rear-facing kid information seats.

The 2025 Toyota Camry — only disposable arsenic a afloat hybrid — is nan highest rated existent car among nan Consumer Reports safest. It's besides nan highest-rated midsize sedan overall, but that's successful a necktie pinch nan Subaru Legacy that, arsenic mentioned, doesn't suffice for nan CR information grant roll. The Camry, obviously, has it, though it's technically abstracted from nan brand's ain bundle of modular ADAS goodies.

That group of technologies — Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, astatine this shape — incorporates AEB, pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure alert pinch steering assistance, "lane-tracing assist," postulation motion recognition, automatic precocious beams, and nan automaker's Proactive Driving Assist for hands-on semi-autonomous travel. CR called retired nan Camry's forward-collision tech arsenic a use because drivers are capable to set its sensitivity connected nan fly. Additionally, CR is simply a large proponent of no-cost precocious automatic crash-notification setups, truthful nan publication praised nan Camry's free 10-year proceedings period.

The bad news successful position of information is that nan Camry falls into nan aforesaid shape arsenic nan first 2 rides connected nan information leaderboard. That is, contempt nan beingness of immoderate family-focused information measures, fitting car seats successful nan Camry tin beryllium a difficult task.

Well-liked by CR — which besides listed it among the champion hybrid SUVs nether $45,000 — nan 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is some good nether that value and well-equipped pinch information gear. Even pinch an MSRP of $33,465 (before $1,495 successful destination charges), nan Tucson Hybrid comes modular pinch each nan required ADAS information measures and past some. For example, arsenic CR reported, Hyundai's compact hybrid SUV assists drivers pinch an precocious blind-spot strategy that tin actively use nan brakes to thief debar imaginable collisions. Complimentary precocious clang notification is besides modular for nan original owner. 

That said, we want to stress that nan CR results present use only to nan hybrid version. The non-hybrid version, treated separately by CR, isn't included connected nan safest database –despite beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid information equipment. A important quality is that nan non-hybrid received worse scores connected CR's roadworthy trial and successful nan information for predicted customer satisfaction. And that's existent moreover while nan non-hybrid had amended capacity for predicted reliability. The bottommost statement is that nan Tucson Hybrid and Tucson are some recommended by CR, but nan erstwhile is rated number six in its people and nan second is number 13.

Consumer reports chose 9 vehicles for its database of safest cars, and of those, nan BMX X5 is nan highest rated conveyance connected nan database successful position of CR's Overall Score. It's besides the highest rated midsize luxury SUV overall. And for what it's worth, it's apt to get an optional hydrogen powertrain erstwhile it's redesigned for 2028.

For this year, nan X5 earned CR praise for a number of information features, for illustration a convenient dashboard strategy pinch parameter lights for nan position of its galore ADAS technologies. The X5's blind-spot system, for one, was further noted for its salient driver warnings that widen to a vibrating steering wheel. The strategy useful by activating if you effort to move into a lane already occupied by different vehicle.

Important information options per CR were nan X5's steering-intervention system, which is integrated pinch lane keeping, and tech to alert drowsy/distracted drivers. Potential owners pinch kids should cognize that CR did person immoderate trouble pinch rear-facing kid information seats successful nan X5's backmost row, arsenic good arsenic pinch front-facing seats specifically successful that row's mediate position.