Consumer Reports says Mazda is the safest brand

[Freedom55]

Consumer Reports Names Mazda Its First‑Ever Safest New‑Car Brand

Mazda is proud to be recognized by Consumer Reports as the top‑performing brand in its newly released Safety Verdict assessment—an evaluation that sets a new benchmark for how effectively...

news.mazdausa.com

Good to know!

 

[Mazdiod2]

Better than Volvo?

 

[Lazy2.5]

Quote: "Mazda's strong results demonstrate our long‑standing belief that true safety comes from the seamless integration of advanced engineering, intuitive technology, and vehicles that respond predictably and confidently to the driver."

Sounds about right to me. I am consistently impressed with how playful and lively Mazda's chassis is while being downright stable and predictable, at a broad range of different speeds.

It's really impressive to me that I can routinely get my FWD Mazda 6 to oversteer in slippery conditions when equipped with winter tires. In the odd time that I have to be evasive and experience oversteer unintentionally, the vehicle is still composed and easy to control, even at higher speeds.

I believe the vehicle's neutral handling and composure play a large role in safety.

 

[N7turbo]

In a thread about safety, oversteer is inherently unsafe and these cars are set up to understeer from the factory.

 

[Freedom55]

Better than Volvo?

I had the same initial question...also better than Subaru. Yes better than Volvo because CR used additional criteria such as availability of safety nannies across models, driver's distraction from touch screen, etc. That's why Tesla scored quite low because most of the commands are done through the touch screen. Alas that being said, it doesn't look good for Mazda next year as the CX-5 will have most commands done through the touch screen. Seems to me that CR liked the commander knob on the 2025 models even if some users don't like it (I'm OK with it); you can't please everyone!

 

[ADS-B]

What is safety nannies?

 

[Lazy2.5]

In a thread about safety, oversteer is inherently unsafe and these cars are set up to understeer from the factory.

Oversteer can be dangerous in certain scenarios, even if you know how to control it. So is understeer. I am obviously competent with controlling a vehicle at it's limit of grip, but I often don't feel that way while I am understeering.

I can't say that I have often experienced dangerous levels of oversteer while driving normally, in snowy conditions, with winter tires.

Any driver who actually knows how to control their vehicle would likely prefer a vehicle that defaults to rotation/controllable levels of oversteer at the limit.

When my car does understeer, I feel like all I can really do is sit and wait for it to stop, or pull the mechanical e brake (And get it to oversteer, where you now actually have control over where you are going, to an extent.)

While the CX-5 turbo I drove understeered more than my 6, I did still get it to oversteer pretty nicely under power while turning. I'd say that the 6 is tuned more on the neutral side rather than defaulting to understeer.

 

[Freedom55]

What is safety nannies?

Things like blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert/braking, forward emergency braking, etc.

More explanation from Road and Track if you are interested.

Mazda Tops New Consumer Reports Rankings of Safest Overall New Car Brands in America

The new safety verdict assessment goes beyond crash test results and considers handling, braking, and interior controls.

www.roadandtrack.com