When Consumer Reports (CR) released its list of which brands make the best cars for 2025, the number one position was held not by some fancy premium name like BMW, Lexus, or Porsche — which were ranked second, third, and fourth. It was Subaru, with, as CR noted, vehicles that "frequently rank near the top of Consumer Reports' Owner Satisfaction and reliability ratings." So when the same team recently announced its choice for the safest cars you can buy right now, you might have expected to see at least a Subie or two in the mix. After all, the best cars should be pretty safe, too.
Yet the total number of Subaru models on CR's safety list, even when you take into account the Legacy sedan that recently went out of production, turns out to be exactly zero. The reason is a simple one, though: Only cars with standard blind-spot warning could qualify as a "safest" car, and that's only available as an option on Subarus. It makes sense when you remember that those pesky blind spots keep getting bigger. Anyway, Subaru's EyeSight bundle, which is standard, does feature adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure/sway warning, automatic emergency steering, and pre-collision throttle management.
Also required by CR were good scores in its own tests for braking, emergency handling, rollaway protection, and overall usability. Plus, cars had to come standard with not only blind-spot warning, but also automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and rear cross-traffic alert. Here are the vehicles that met the criteria.
The 2025 Toyota Crown is an interesting enough vehicle even before we look at its safety record: CR ranks it as number one overall in the large-car category, but it's also the only vehicle in that class – and its lifted ride height and overall shape means some folks consider it more of an SUV. We're in that second camp and had to admit the Toyota Crown crossover is cool after our first drive.
As for its CR data, the Crown put up typically impressive Toyota-style results nearly across the board. Notching strong numbers in road testing, predicted reliability, and predicted customer reliability, all complemented by a full roster of Toyota Smart Sense 3.0 technologies. Garnering specific CR attention were the Crown's standard forward collision-warning system, which drivers can adjust for sensitivity, and its available rear automatic emergency braking that's standard on the Limited and Platinum trim levels.
Automatic crash notification comes standard for the first 10 years of ownership, and that got CR's attention as well. That said, CR further noticed that while the Crown did earn Top Safety Pick status from the IIHS, it was tested before the latest evaluation for moderate front-overlap crashes was brought into the picture.
Boxy and beautiful, the Hyundai Santa Fe and its hybrid sibling are listed separately in the overall CR rankings, with only the latter version earning a place on the safest car list. The hybrid is backed by a noticeably higher CR Overall Score that, in turn, was driven by a much better driving experience.
The three-row Santa Fe is highlighted by an especially broad range of standard safety tech that's optional or missing on some rivals. Consider the Santa Fe's approach to automatic braking: it features that functionality not only when driving forward, but also when it's in reverse. CR also singled out the Santa Fe for family-friendly safety, which is particularly important in a three-row SUV.
Here, the Santa Fe's safe-exit and rear-occupant alert systems were marked as key advantages. The first can warn passengers if a car or bicycle is coming up from behind when the SUV is parked, helping avoid possible collisions by alerting them to the danger if they try to open a door. On the other hand, the Santa Fe's cabin didn't seem all that well-suited to rear-facing child safety seats.
The 2025 Toyota Camry — only available as a full hybrid — is the highest rated actual car among the Consumer Reports safest. It's also the highest-rated midsize sedan overall, but that's in a tie with the Subaru Legacy that, as mentioned, doesn't qualify for the CR safety honor roll. The Camry, obviously, has it, although it's technically separate from the brand's own bundle of standard ADAS goodies.
That group of technologies — Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, at this stage — incorporates AEB, pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure alert with steering assistance, "lane-tracing assist," traffic sign recognition, automatic high beams, and the automaker's Proactive Driving Assist for hands-on semi-autonomous travel. CR called out the Camry's forward-collision tech as a benefit because drivers are able to adjust its sensitivity on the fly. Additionally, CR is a big proponent of no-cost advanced automatic crash-notification setups, so the publication praised the Camry's free 10-year trial period.
The bad news in terms of safety is that the Camry falls into the same pattern as the first two rides on the safety leaderboard. That is, despite the presence of some family-focused safety measures, fitting car seats in the Camry can be a difficult task.
Well-liked by CR — which also listed it among the best hybrid SUVs under $45,000 — the 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is both well under that price and well-equipped with safety gear. Even with an MSRP of $33,465 (before $1,495 in destination charges), the Tucson Hybrid comes standard with all the required ADAS safety measures and then some. For example, as CR reported, Hyundai's compact hybrid SUV assists drivers with an advanced blind-spot system that can actively apply the brakes to help avoid possible collisions. Complimentary advanced crash notification is also standard for the original owner.
That said, we want to emphasize that the CR results here apply only to the hybrid version. The non-hybrid version, treated separately by CR, isn't included on the safest list –despite pretty much the same safety equipment. A crucial difference is that the non-hybrid received worse scores on CR's road test and in the evaluation for predicted customer satisfaction. And that's true even while the non-hybrid had better performance for predicted reliability. The bottom line is that the Tucson Hybrid and Tucson are both recommended by CR, but the former is rated number six in its class and the latter is number 13.
Consumer reports chose nine vehicles for its list of safest cars, and of those, the BMX X5 is the highest rated vehicle on the list in terms of CR's Overall Score. It's also the highest rated midsize luxury SUV overall. And for what it's worth, it's likely to get an optional hydrogen powertrain when it's redesigned for 2028.
For this year, the X5 earned CR praise for a number of safety features, like a convenient dashboard system with indicator lights for the status of its many ADAS technologies. The X5's blind-spot system, for one, was further noted for its prominent driver warnings that extend to a vibrating steering wheel. The system works by activating if you try to move into a lane already occupied by another vehicle.
Important safety options per CR were the X5's steering-intervention system, which is integrated with lane keeping, and tech to alert drowsy/distracted drivers. Potential owners with kids should know that CR did have some difficulty with rear-facing child safety seats in the X5's back row, as well as with front-facing seats specifically in that row's middle position.