Top 5-Star Safety Rating Cars in India (2026 List)
Key Highlights:
- List of safety features in cars
- List of safest cars in India
- What are safety ratings?
- Safest car makers in India
Looking back over the last decade, Indian car buyers have undergone a remarkable shift in priorities. Grant Thornton’s December 2025 Festive Drive report indicates that 34% of Indian consumers now rate safety features above price and mileage when purchasing a car. This is a departure from the trend, marking an evolution in consumer behaviour, with safety taking centre stage in the decision-making process.
Back in 2012, the memorable Maruti Suzuki advertisement featured a child asking, “Kitna deti hai?” (How much mileage does it give?. This aptly symbolised the mindset of that era, where fuel efficiency dominated the buyer psyche. Cut to 2026, and a new generation of consumers has emerged that demands safety technology and crash protection as essential, not optional, in their vehicles.
While the German manufacturers like VW and Skoda have long been credited with building the safest cars, the new-age Indian car makers are giving them a tough fight. In the list of India’s top safety-rated cars, Tata Motors has the most products, followed by VW and Skoda. Mahindra, with its good build quality, also finds a place in the list.
Let’s take a detailed look at the top five safety-rated cars in India.
Tata Harrier / Tata Safari
These two Tata SUVs have segment-topping safety tech. They achieved five stars for adult and child protection with a stable body shell. The top variants feature up to seven airbags, including driver knee and side curtain bags that include ABS with EBD, ESC, hill hold control, and ISOFIX child seat anchors as standard. Options like Level 2 ADAS, 360-degree camera, and tyre pressure monitoring enhance its safety manifold.
Tata Nexon (Including EV Variants)
It is the first Indian car with dual five-star ratings. Launched in 2017 with facelifts in 2020 and 2023, it earned five-star ratings in both Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP for adult and child occupant protection, featuring a stable body shell and effective restraint systems. Standard safety equipment includes six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, and ISOFIX child seat mounts across variants. The higher trims of the car come with a 360-degree camera, TPMS, hill hold assist, and ADAS-like forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems. It has been one of the most popular compact SUVs on Indian roads. Its build quality has often been used to create a lot of satirical social media content.
Mahindra XUV700
A great product from Mahindra in the bigger SUV segment. This car has a five-star rating even in the base variant. The imposing SUV has a 5-star Global NCAP rating for adult protection and four stars for child protection. Its top variants offer seven airbags, including driver knee, side, and curtain types for comprehensive coverage. It comes with a Level two ADAS, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, and automatic emergency braking. This SUV by Mahindra has been a segment favourite and has constantly amazed Indian buyers with its performance and safety.
Volkswagen Virtus / Skoda Slavia
These two German car manufacturers have long delivered the highest safety rankings in their segments. The two share most of the tech used in their cars and provide the best safety-rated sedans on Indian roads. These two German sedans share the same advanced safety features and are among the safest cars in India. They include airbags, stability and braking aids, child seat mounts, and tools that help prevent accidents. With up to six airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), ABS with EBD, and traction control for better handling and braking, Virtus and Slavia deliver the highest safety specs in this segment. ISOFIX child seat mounts, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), and hill hold control enhance safety. Its multi-collision brakes, rear parking sensors/camera, and over-speed alerts are great prevention tools in keeping its occupants safe.
Volkswagen Taigun / Skoda Kushaq
These two twin models are built on the MQB-A0-IN platform. They have both earned a five-star Global NCAP rating for adult and child occupant protection under updated crash test protocols, featuring stable body shells and good protection in frontal and side impacts. The standard specs include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), along with up to six airbags, ABS with EBD, Electronic Brake Assist, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Hill Hold Control, ISOFIX child seat anchors, and seatbelt reminders with overspeed warnings. In simple terms, these two car models are built on the same platform and have top safety ratings for both adults and children. They come with strong body structures and many safety features like airbags, stability control, and child seat mounts.
With the Indian market sentiment bending towards safety, these top-rated cars set the benchmark for secure, confident driving on Indian roads.
FAQs
1. What does a five-star safety rating mean?
A five-star rating score in car safety means that the car has achieved the highest level of crash protection and safety performance in standardised testing programs. There are different testing programs in different countries, like NHTSA in the US, Euro NCAP in Europe, or Bharat NCAP in India.
2. How to judge a car’s safety?
The easiest way is to look at crash test ratings from agencies like Bharat NCAP (relevant in India). You should look for a car with a four- to five-star rating. In the absence of ratings, look for safety tech like ABS with EBD (prevents wheel lockup), ESC (maintains stability), and ADAS features such as automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and blind-spot detection. Airbags, seatbelt reminders, ISOFIX child seat anchors, and tyre pressure monitoring systems are also features that one must check to judge the safety of a car.
3. Which Indian-made cars have received a five-star safety rating?
Tata Safari, Tata Harrier, Tata Nexon, Tata Punch, Mahindra XUV700, and Mahindra Scorpio-N are some of the cars that have achieved five-star ratings in safety standards. This showcases improved safety standards in the Indian auto industry and the technical advancement in the manufacturing capabilities of Indian car makers