Subaru’s safety record gives South African families more reason to look beyond the badge

Every year, UNICEF estimates that more than 181,000 children and young people aged 0 to 19 die as a result of road traffic injuries, with more than 90% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

For Subaru, those figures are a reminder of why vehicle safety matters beyond a specification sheet. While many motorists still associate the highest levels of safety with premium badges, Subaru has built a well-established global reputation for safety and crash-prevention technology. Independent assessments show that Subaru continues to rank among some of the safest vehicles on the road.

As South Africa marks Child Protection Week and families prepare for the June-July school holidays, road safety deserves renewed attention, particularly when it comes to children. The Road Accident Fund has reported that, in 2024, school children aged five to 14 accounted for nearly 6% of all lives lost on South African roads, a figure that points to the very real risks faced by families, schools and communities across the country.

Safety features such as airbags, anti-lock brakes and driver assistance systems can help save lives, but they are only part of the picture. A safe vehicle also needs to be engineered to protect the people inside when an impact does happen, and to help the driver avoid one where possible.

Independent testing plays an important role in helping buyers understand that distinction. Organisations such as Euro NCAP and the US-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) assess vehicles for crash protection, crash avoidance and occupant safety, giving consumers a clearer view of how a vehicle performs beyond the showroom floor.

Subaru has consistently performed strongly in these independent assessments. In 2026, the Forester, Outback and Ascent earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick+ award, the organisation’s highest safety honour. While the Ascent is not offered in South Africa, its results form part of a wider global safety record for the brand.

The latest Subaru Forester and Crosstrek have also received five-star Euro NCAP ratings. Both performed strongly in child-occupant protection, with the Forester scoring 89% and the Crosstrek 90%.

??Subaru’s independent safety performance is also supported by a broader approach to vehicle design. In the Forester, outward visibility is designed to help the driver see more clearly around the vehicle, including in environments where children may be nearby. Subaru’s rear door engagement pins also form part of this safety approach, helping to secure the rear doors within the body structure and reduce the risk of intrusion into the cabin during a side-impact collision.

These results are supported by Subaru’s EyeSight Driver Assist Technology, which is designed to help reduce the risk of a collision before it happens. EyeSight uses camera-based technology to monitor the road ahead and assist the driver through features such as pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and lane-keeping support.

“Safety has always been central to Subaru’s engineering philosophy, but it becomes especially meaningful when we think about the people our vehicles are designed to protect,” says Nteo Nkoli, National Marketing Manager at Subaru South Africa. “For families, choosing a vehicle is about trust. ???Independent safety ratings, strong child-occupant protection scores, thoughtful vehicle design and technologies such as EyeSight all help give motorists confidence that their vehicle has been designed with that responsibility in mind.”

Crash protection and crash prevention need to work together. A safe family car should protect its occupants in a collision while helping the driver avoid one in the first place. Subaru’s approach to safety has long reflected this. From Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive to EyeSight Driver Assist Technology and strong crash-test performance, the brand has focused on giving drivers greater confidence and occupants better protection across a wide range of road conditions.

ENDS