Are Luxury Cars Safer than Regular Cars?
The luxury car market is worth around $6.8 billion in the US, representing 5% of America’s global car sales. In 2021, 14.7% of light-vehicle sales were luxury vehicles, but this figure had risen to 19.6% of US sales in 2023, so the market continues to expand.
Male Gen Z and older millennials are the most likely to buy luxury cars. Luxury cars from brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are often considered safer than regular non-luxury vehicles. But is this perception accurate? Luxury vehicles have more safety features and perform better in car crash tests. However, newer regular vehicles have improved safety significantly over the years.
Zachary Leacox, an experienced Palm Bay car accident lawyer, analyzes the differences in safety between luxury and regular cars in this article.
Advanced Safety Features in Luxury Cars
One of the most significant advantages of luxury vehicles is the availability of more advanced safety technologies compared to regular cars. Features like automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control are standard or are easier to find on luxury cars. These innovative features can help prevent car accidents in the first place or minimize damage. Luxury car brands invest heavily in R&D to implement the latest safety tech before other brands.
Structural Car Safety
Luxury cars tend to use higher-grade materials and have more structural rigidity than regular vehicles. They have sturdier construction with front and rear crumple zones that absorb impact better. Luxury brands also carefully engineer their vehicles to perform well in rollover and side crashes—22% of passenger deaths in 2021 were caused by side-impact crashes, which equates to around 8,000 people per year. The more substantial build quality in luxury cars leads to better occupant protection.
Car Crash Test Results
Luxury cars consistently achieve top scores in crash testing by the NHTSA and IIHS. They outperform regular vehicles in categories like frontal crashes, side crashes, and rollover tests. Strong performance in standardized car crash tests indicates their higher crashworthiness and ability to protect occupants. Luxury carmakers meticulously design their vehicles to score well.
Luxury Cars Advanced Driver Aids
Luxury cars have technology like night vision, parking assist, 360-degree cameras, and more. These advanced aids provide the driver with more awareness and control. This can help avoid car accidents and risky situations. However, these innovative aids are also becoming more common in regular vehicles.
Regular Cars Are Safer Too
While luxury cars perform better safety-wise, regular cars have also improved dramatically as safety standards have become more stringent. Non-luxury brands like Honda, Toyota, and Subaru have models that perform very well in car crash tests. Airbags, ABS, stability control, and high-strength steel are standard across most price points. Safety should not be a significant concern for reputable brands of non-luxury vehicles. The safety gap has narrowed between regular and luxury cars, especially recently. However, car accidents still happen, and if you're involved in one, it's wise to contact a car accident attorney to discuss your rights and responsibilities.
Luxury cars still have an edge safety-wise due to advanced tech, robust build, and design focus on occupant protection. However, even budget vehicles have elevated safety significantly. For most consumers, a regular car from a trusted brand should provide adequate safety. But luxury cars remain the safest options currently available.
