10 Great Safety Features in Cars That Are on Sale Now

Given the fast-paced growth of automotive technology, it’s no surprise to find so many great safety features in cars that are on sale now, and limiting our list to only 10 required much-heated debate. In the end, we went with our usual wide-ranging approach, looking to illustrate the gamut of great features with entries from across the pricing spectrum, as well as with a relative emphasis on attainability. Readers also should note that all of the vehicles here offer much more in the way of occupant protection than just the individual features highlighted below.

Nissan was a pioneer in bringing rearview camera systems to the mainstream, and that expertise certainly comes in handy with its new design language. After all, while appearance cues like a “floating roof” no doubt enhance the visual flair of the 2016 Nissan Maxima, for instance, that particular style touch doesn’t do much for rear visibility, especially when combined with the car’s rear parcel shelf. The automaker’s latest “RearView Monitor” helps make up for that, however, as one of the great safety features in cars that are on sale now. Standard on the Maxima, it sends a live feed from the rear-mounted camera directly to the car’s also-standard 8-inch touchscreen display. Further, a 360-degree “Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection” is available, leveraging four cameras, for a full bird’s-eye view of the area around the Maxima; it can alert the driver if it detects an object directly behind the vehicle, too.

The Blue Oval and blind-spot technology also go way back. In fact—and uncoincidentally—Ford’s current “Blind Spot Information System” still carries the same name used by Volvo to introduce the feature in the mid-2000s, when the latter brand was part of Ford Motor Company’s ill-fated Premier Automotive Group. In entries like the 2016 Ford Fusion, though, it’s been refined to rely on rear-mounted radar sensors that can detect and alert drivers to traffic behind the car, whether it’s in the form of vehicles coming up from behind while on the road or those crossing at the rear of the Fusion when the driver is backing up. For added effectiveness, the Ford system supplies visual alerts both in the appropriate exterior mirror and in the car’s driver information center. Remember, though, that as is the case with other great safety measures in currently available cars, blind-spot monitors can’t actually replace driver judgment.

Some of the cool safety technologies on today’s cars aren’t directly tied to the vehicle, but instead can best be viewed as teaching tools for younger or more inexperienced drivers. For example, the 2016 Kia Optima launched with four new telematics services as part of its UVO connectivity technology, with all four developed to keep a watchful eye on Optima operation: Geo-fencing can send an electronic message to the owner if his or her car leaves a pre-set geographical area, “Speed Alert” does much the same if the Optima exceeds owner-selected speed limits, “Curfew Alert” lets owners know if the Optima stays out too late, and the “Driving Score” function tracks how efficiently the car is being driven. It’s additionally worth pointing out that UVO supports safety features such as automatic crash notification and push-button access to roadside assistance.

Yes, Toyota offers a lot of great safety features in cars that are on sale now, ranging from driver-assistance measures like a blind-spot monitor and adaptive cruise control to a Safety Connect telematics service with automatic crash notification and an “SOS” button. The car, like many mentioned here, also has earned a Top Safety Pick+ recognition and a 5-Star Overall Safety Score from NHTSA. Despite that, at least for readers with a long memory, what may be best known about entries like the 2016 Toyota Camry is the company’s “Smart Stop Technology.” Implemented across the lineup to guard against unintended acceleration, the Smart Stop feature automatically—and significantly—reduces engine output if the gas and brake pedal are pressed at the same time in certain driving situations, e.g. if the throttle is open and the brakes are afterward firmly engaged.

As the overall state of technology advances in the industry, automakers are providing more and more great safety features in cars that are on sale now in the compact segment, where pricing can play an important factor in the purchase process. Consider the 2016 Honda Civic: It’s a relatively affordable mainstream compact, but it also furnishes a sophisticated “Road Departure Mitigation” that builds on the capability of typical course-correction technology—such as lane-departure alerts and lane-keeping systems—with specific functionality when a vehicle is at risk of leaving the roadway. Honda’s setup has a camera located at the top of the Civic’s windshield, along with the ability to “recognize” lane identifiers like solid and dashed lines and other markers. It can then deploy audible and tactile alerts, as well as brake and torque intervention, if the vehicle begins to drift out of its proper lane without a turn signal activated.

Originally debuting on the Chevy and GMC truck lineups, the GM Safety Alert Seat can now be counted among the great safety features currently available in cars, too, starting with upscale choices like the 2016 Cadillac CTS. As featured in Cadillac’s highly regarded sport sedan, the technology complements audible alerts for lane-departure and forward-collision system with subtle vibrations in the vehicle’s seat bolsters—even when those seats include the heated and ventilated leather buckets in the twin-turboed V-Sport edition. In any event, both bolsters vibrate as a forward-collision alert, and a vibration from one side indicates a potential threat from that direction. So not only does it provide an alternative to annoying beeps and chimes—although owners can keep those on as well—but it also allows the millions of drivers with hearing impairments in this country to benefit from Cadillac’s cutting-edge safety tech.

Sizzling sales and symmetrical all-wheel drive are hallmarks of the Subaru brand in recent years, yet equally impressive is the company’s track record for safety. Indeed, even as mainstream compacts from Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other brands continue to come up short, the 2016 recently earned a Top Safety Pick+ recognition from the IIHS, thanks in no small part to some of the best safety features in cars that are on sale now. The key, of course, is the Impreza’s front crash-prevention technology. That, in turn, relies on the stereo-camera setup of the brand’s Eyesight driver-assistance package to identify vehicles in front of the Impreza, determine if a potential impact is imminent, then intervene with automatic braking if necessary. The tech also supports adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning, and it comes bundled in the Impreza with foglights that, if turned off, automatically and independently illuminate for better lighting in turns.

Always awake to ways of increasing occupant protection, Volvo engineers have deployed Driver Alert Control (DAC) in the 2016 Volvo S60. Created to help alert drivers who may have become too drowsy to drive safely, the camera-based technology can compare the line markers on the road ahead of the S60 with the driver’s steering inputs; if the latter isn't consistently following the former, that’s a sign of a tired driver. At that stage, the system will chime to get the pilot’s attention, and also display a “time for a break” message in the driver information center. Meanwhile, the next stage in Volvo’s ongoing product renaissance—the premiere of the all-new S90 flagship sedan—is expected to bring further safety innovations, but because we’re focused on great safety features in cars that are on sale now, that large and luxurious entry will have to be discussed later.

Another bright spot among all the great safety features available on today’s cars is the Night Vision system in the brand-new 2016 BMW 7 Series. This thermal-imaging technology lives up to its name by showing an infrared-enabled forward view—on the car’s display screen and head-up display—in which people and larger animals stand out more clearly against the darker background. Naturally, Night Vision also initiates audible and visual warnings if a potential impact scenario is detected, and pre-charges the brakes to prepare for emergency stopping (if necessary). BMW backs Night Vision with a variety of other illumination innovations as well, including adaptive headlights. With these lamps lit, an internal computer system can analyze the speed of the 7 Series, along with its steering angle and degree of yaw, and then use that information to re-aim the lighting to better follow the road.

What with all the fuss over OnStar’s mobile Wi-Fi capability and 4G LTE connectivity—both of which are available on the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro and throughout the Bowtie Brand roster—it can be easy to forget that the brand also delivers great safety features in cars that are currently on sale. Automatic crash response, for one, will automatically connect with an OnStar advisor in certain crash situations. And to be clear, that’s even in cases where Camaro occupants can’t press the OnStar SOS button—though that can be a vital feature in and of itself, since it initiates a priority connection with an advisor at any time of the day or night. OnStar Crisis Assist also makes for a handy resource in times of trouble, as advisors can provide specific assistance during severe weather or other natural—or man-made—disaster situations.