A handful of the most popular cars on the market have been shortlisted among the safest vehicles in the UK as experts praise the continued use of in-car features.
The vehicles shortlisted for the 2025 Safety Award are deemed to offer the best range of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to occupants and other road users.
One of the most popular forms of ADAS is Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) which recognises speed limits by cameras and sensors and provides a warning to drivers if they are exceeding the limit.
This is one of the key facets of the European Union’s second phase of the General Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2) which mandates the implementation of ADAS technologies on all new vehicles.
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Vehicle safety rules have been praised across the European Union
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The phase applied to new vehicle models from July 7, 2024, with further requirements seeing the rules apply to existing vehicle models from July 7, 2026.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the UK will follow the same path as the European Union by adopting road safety measures. GB News understands that the Department for Transport has commissioned research to look at the benefits and drawbacks of implementing such technology in the UK.
According to safety research by Thatcham Research, Euro NCAP and What Car?, four of the shortlisted vehicles already comply with the second phase of new models.
The remaining six vehicles comply with the first phase as they do not have driver-facing cameras offering “direct driver gaze monitoring”.
Other ADAS features include Lane Keep Assist (LKA) which ensures the vehicle doesn’t depart from the intended lane of travel during an emergency situation.
The Audi Q6 E-Tron
AUDI
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) detects vehicles and pedestrians in the path of the vehicle and takes action to prevent or mitigate the risk of a collision.
Richard Billyeald, Chief Research and Operations Officer at Thatcham Research, noted that some drivers perceive ADAS features as being annoying or distracting, prompting them to switch them off.
He added: “It’s crucial for all ADAS features to be properly implemented to reduce the number of false positives, only activating when required.
“While it’s true that there is variation in implementation and that drivers will find some systems to be more intrusive than others, the fundamental objective of ADAS is to reduce crashes and save lives.”
The Skoda Kodiaq
SKODA
The Audi Q6 E-Tron was deemed by judges to have an “excellent” driver assistance system and “extremely intuitive” information, helping it achieve the highest score in Euro NCAP’s Child Occupant Protection tests.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class had a 100 per cent displayed speed limit accuracy, while the Toyota C-HR had the highest score on Euro NCAP’s Vulnerable Road User Protection test.
Billyeald, continues: “GSR2 represents a good step in improving overall vehicle safety across Europe. However, manufacturers must ensure that the mandated systems work collaboratively with the driver, and that their fitment is not treated as a tick-box exercise.
“Systems must be implemented well, performing in the real world with high accuracy to ensure the safety benefit is realised.”
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The 10 cars shortlisted for the 2025 What Car? Safety Award
- Audi Q6 E-Tron
- Mazda CX-60
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Mini Countryman
- MG HS
- Skoda Kodiaq
- Toyota C-HR
- Volkswagen Passat
- Volvo EX30
- Xpeng G6
