2025 ANCAP safest cars ranked: why five stars are not all equal
A five-star ANCAP rating is a strong starting point, but it is not the finish line. In the recent Auto Insight Lab ANCAP dataset, the leading 2025 five-star cars still separate meaningfully across adult protection, child protection, vulnerable road user protection and safety assist.
The highest-scoring 2025 five-star ANCAP models in this dataset
The table below is sorted by Auto Insight Lab's SafetyScore, which is derived from the ANCAP data fields in the local dataset. It is useful for comparison, but buyers should still confirm the official rating and variant coverage on ANCAP's own page before relying on it.
| Rank | Model | SafetyScore | Adult | Child | VRU | Safety Assist | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model 3 | 100.0 | 90% | 95% | 89% | 88% | Battery electric |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 99.0 | 91% | 95% | 86% | 92% | Battery electric |
| 3 | Leapmotor B10 | 97.1 | 93% | 95% | 84% | 86% | Battery electric |
| 4 | Volvo EX90 | 94.5 | 92% | 94% | 82% | 84% | Battery electric |
| 5 | Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe | 94.2 | 93% | 86% | 87% | 84% | Petrol / diesel |
| 6 | BYD SEAL 6 | 93.7 | 92% | 90% | 84% | 84% | Plug-in hybrid |
What the ranking actually says
The first thing to notice is that the top group is not simply a list of expensive luxury cars. It includes battery-electric sedans and SUVs, a new Chinese electric SUV, a European coupe, and a plug-in hybrid sedan. The stronger story is not brand prestige; it is how recent platforms combine crash protection with active safety systems.
The second thing to notice is that five stars hide real differences. Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model Y L both carry five stars in this extract, but Model Y L has a lower child occupant score at 84%, while Model Y records 95%. A family buyer should care about that difference more than the shared badge.
Which sub-score matters most?
Family buyers
Start with adult and child occupant protection. In this 2025 top group, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y and Leapmotor B10 all record 95% child occupant protection, while Volvo EX90 sits at 94%. That is the kind of detail a family shortlist should surface.
City drivers
Vulnerable Road User Protection matters more if most driving is in busy urban areas with pedestrians, cyclists and tighter intersections. Model 3 leads this top group at 89%, while CLE Coupe and Model Y L sit at 87% and 86% respectively.
Fleet and commuting buyers
Safety Assist deserves extra attention for repeat driving, highway commuting and mixed-driver fleets. Tesla Model Y and Model Y L both show 92% Safety Assist, which is higher than the other top-six vehicles listed here.
Use the live ANCAP filter
This article is a fixed editorial snapshot. The searchable ANCAP page lets you filter the full dataset by model, year, stars, energy source, current-model status and body/tag keywords.
Open the ANCAP ratings filter and compare each model's four sub-scores, total points and source ANCAP link.
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