What are the safest used cars you can buy? From the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V to the Kia Cerato, here are the results from the 2023 Used Car Safety Ratings

Choosing a used car can be tricky. You want to make sure you're not getting ripped off and that the car has been well looked after and doesn't have any hidden damage.

But another key consideration is safety.

The long-running ANCAP (Australiasian New Car Assessment Program) testing protocol has been providing consumers with advice and information, largely via ratings, for years, but that is purely for brand new cars.

But what about used cars? That's where the Monash University Accident Research Centre's (MUARC) Used Car Safety Ratings comes in.

And in 2023, the program has expanded to focus on more than just driver safety - it now looks at the impact of other road users and crash avoidance technology.

While 106 models scored an overall five stars, there were 20 models that recorded five stars across all three categories, and these are dubbed ‘Safer Pick' cars.

Of that 106, the majority were medium and large SUVs, but there were also a number of passenger cars like sedans and smaller SUVs.

No light-commercial vehicles, specifically utes and vans, achieved five stars this year.

While acknowledging that newer vehicles are generally safer than used cars, MUARC says buyers should look for a used vehicle with an overall five-star rating.

MUARC included 518 makes and models in the 2023 program, rating all of them out of five stars, with one star being the worst for safety and five stars the best.

Here are the 20 cars that were worthy of Safer Pick status, in alphabetical order;

Audi A4/S4/RS4/AllRoad (MY 2008-2015)

Honda CR-V (MY 2017-2021)

Honda Odyssey (MY 2013-2021)

Jeep Cherokee (MY 2014-2021)

Kia Cerato (MY 2018-2021)

Land Rover Range Rover Sport (MY 2005-2013)

Mazda 3 (MY 2013-2019)

Mazda 6 (MY 2012-2021)

Mazda CX-3 (MY 2015-2021)

Mazda CX-5 (MY 2017-2021)

Mazda CX-9 (MY 2016-2021)

Mitsubishi Outlander (MY 2012-2021)

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (MY 2015-2021)

Mercedes Benz E-Class W212/C207/A207 (MY 2009-2016)

Subaru Impreza/XV (MY 2016-2021)

Toyota C-HR (MY 2016-2021)

Toyota Camry (MY 2017-2021)

Toyota Corolla (MY 2018-2021)

Toyota RAV4 (MY 2019-2021)

Volkswagen Tiguan (MY 2016-2021)

Monash analyses the latest real-world crash statistics of more than nine million vehicles involved in police-reported crashes and 2.5 million injured road users in Australia and New Zealand between 1987-2021 to determine the Used Car Safety Ratings, considering three key components;

"How well the vehicle protects its driver from being killed or seriously injured in a crash (Driver Safety rating).

"How well the vehicle protects other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists from being killed or seriously injured in a crash (Other Road User Safety rating).

"The reduction in likelihood of being involved in a crash through key crash avoidance technologies being available in the vehicle (Crash Avoidance rating)."

The Used Car Safety Ratings 2023 acknowledged improvements to vehicle safety over the last 30 years. Most of the models dubbed Safer Picks were built from 2006 on, and data showed that on average, "a vehicle manufactured in 2021 reduces the risk of road users being killed or seriously injured by 33 per cent compared to a vehicle manufactured in 2001".

The full results of the 2023 program can be found here.