The 5 Safest Cars to Take Across the Country

These days, the only traveling we can look forward to is a much-needed road trip. However, if you aren't in the right vehicle, all that driving could spell trouble. Plus, excessive driving can also be expensive. 

Since most insurance gives you benefits for driving safely like Allstate's safe driving bonus, it seems beneficial to go a step further and find the safest car to drive. Here are the five safest and most reliable cars to take across the United States.

2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV

The Chevrolet Bolt EV is an electric car, which is why it scores so high on this list. The Bolt is both a safe and fuel-efficient vehicle to drive, but this is a pricey ride, usually costing $30,000 used. 

However, there are some cons like active safety driving costing extra to install and adaptive cruise control not being available. The Bolt is eligible for a single-occupant carpool lane, though, and its one-pedal driving ability is excellent. 

The Bolt's Safety Score

The Chevrolet Bolt scored a 5.0 out of 5.0 on overall safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA also gave it a 4.0 on a frontal crash test, 5.0 on a side barrier test, 5.0 on a rollover rating test, and 5.0 on side crash tests. Overall, this is one of the safest cars you can drive on the road. 

Specifications & Features of the Bolt

As an electric car, the Bolt averages 127 miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent (mpg-e) in city driving, 108 mpg-e on highway driving, and combined it averages 118 mpg-e. It can seat up to five passengers and has a few safety technologies built into it like forward-collision warning with low-speed automatic braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and lane-keep assistance. 

2020 Toyota Prius LE

The 2020 Toyota Prius LE is a hybrid car that runs on both gas and electricity. On average, it costs around $25,000. The Prius is both a reliable and safe vehicle to take on long car rides across the country, and it scores high on the style department as well. 

The Prius LE's Safety Score

The Prius scores 5.0 out of 5.0 for safety as provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This vehicle scored a 4.0 out of 5.0 on the frontal crash test, a 4.0 out of 5.0 on the rollover rating test, a 5.0 out of 5.0 on the side barrier test, and a 5.0 out of 5.0 on the side crash test. 

The Prius also comes with several technology safety features: 

• Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P), which includes a pre-collision warning system
• Automatic emergency braking
• Lane-departure warning/lane-keeping assist
• Radar cruise control
• Automatic high beams
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Safety Connect, which includes emergency assistance, a stolen-vehicle locator, roadside help, and automatic collision notification

Specifications & Features of the Prius LE

As a hybrid model, the Toyota Prius gets 54 mpg in city driving, 50 mpg on the highway, and an average of 52 mpg combined. This vehicle can seat up to five passengers, has a horsepower of 121 at 5,200 revolutions per minute, and it can fit 24.6 cubic feet of cargo space. 

These features arguably make the Toyota Prius the perfect car to save on gas while traveling long distances.

2020 Honda HR-V

The Honda HR-V is one of the cheaper cars on this list, averaging around $24,000. If you're traveling on a budget but you still need a reliable and comfortable car to take cross-country with you, then the 2020 Honda HR-V EX is what you need. 

The HR-V has a range of different models that offer you a plethora of equipment to choose from, and it also comes with five different modes of interior layout, giving you many ways to store items when traveling.

The HR-V's Safety Score

Scoring a 5.0 out of 5.0 for safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Subaru scored 4.0 on the frontal crash test, 4.0 on the rollover rating test, 5.0 on the side barrier test, and 5.0 on the side crash test.

This option comes with six airbags as a standard on every 2020 model. Also included is the Honda Sensing, which includes forward-collision mitigation with automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, and adaptive cruise control. Additionally, it has Honda LaneWatch, which acts as blind-spot monitoring on the passenger side. 

Specifications & Features of the HR-V

The Honda averages around 28 mpg in the city, 34 mpg on the highway, and combined is around 30 mpg. It can also seat up to five people and drives on gasoline. It has a cargo space of 58.8 cubic feet and has a horsepower of 141 at 6,500 rpm. 

This vehicle does live up to the expectation as one of the best cars for travel, and it boasts fairly high scores on safety as well. 

2020 Subaru Crosstrek Limited

With an average market price of $26,000, the Subaru Crosstrek Limited scores consistently high on comfort and fun. Subaru is known for creating reliable travel cars, and the Subaru Crosstrek lives up to this expectation. 

The Crosstrek has a strong resale value as well as being a very reliable car on trips. There is plenty of room for passengers and storage.

The Crosstrek's Safety Score

The Subaru Crosstrek has a 5.0 safety score out of 5.0 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It scored 4.0 in the frontal crash testing, 4.0 in the rollover rating test, 5.0 in the side barrier test, 5.0 in the side crash test.

The safety technology for these vehicles include EyeSight, which has forward-collision warnings and the ability to slow or even stop the car during a collision. It also features adaptive cruise control, a lane-departure and sway warning, and a lane-keep assist. There is also a blind-spot monitor with a rear cross-traffic alert and reverse automatic braking.

Specifications & Features of the Crosstrek

The Subaru runs on gas, with an average mpg of 27 for city driving, 33 for highway driving, and combined it averages at 30 mpg. It can seat up to five passengers, and it has 55.3 cubic feet of cargo space.

2020 Ford Mustang GT

Usually priced around $34,000, the Ford Mustang GT is available as a coupé or convertible, which is a nice feature when going on vacation to someplace hot during the summer. It does not have an option for all-wheel drive, though, and the rear seats are rather small. 

However, this car does not score high on comfort. This is, of course, necessary when you're trying to avoid back-related travel injuries.

The Mustang's Safety Score

Like all the cars on this list, the Ford Mustang GT has a 5.0-star crash test rating on Kelley Blue Book. This means that it received 5.0 stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for frontal crash, side barrier, rollover rating, and side crash in the testing of the overall safety of passengers.

The Mustang also comes with some safety technology controls such as electronic stability control, which helps keep the Mustang going in your desired direction when skidding. Some sporty models also allow driver input if they wanted to put their tail in a controlled slide. It also has four-wheel disc brakes and blind-spot monitoring. 

Specifications & Features of the Mustang

Though it scores high on safety, the Ford only gets 15 mpg in city driving, 24 mpg on the highway, and combined averages at 18 mpg. It seats four people at max and can store up to 13.5 cubic feet in its trunk. 

The Safest Cars Depend on You

These were just a few of the safest cars to travel within 2020. The key things to think about are how much the car costs, what sort of budget you have for your trip, and if you strictly want a gasoline car or if a hybrid or electric is fine with you.

Though on the pricey side, hybrids and electric cars tend to get the most gas mileage, which is why a few are on this list. Overall, just do your best to plan so you can enjoy your well-deserved trip.

Brennan Lingo writes and researches for the insurance comparison site, TheTruthAboutInsurance.com. Brennan enjoys helping people learn about the best options for safe traveling when taking road trips.