Don’t Drive Your Daughter’s Car
There are a lot of factors that contribute to being protected in a car crash. The gender and age of the driver are two very important ones. That’s what makes Auto Grades a powerful tool. It is the only car safety rating system that provides rankings by gender and age.
As Baby Boomers reach retirement age, there are more older drivers on the road than ever before. And when we buckle up, we assume that we are all (mother, father, sister, brother) equally protected in a crash. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true.
Just as an older woman is more likely to be injured in a fall than her 20-something year old daughter, older people are more vulnerable in car crashes than younger people. Seat belts and other safety equipment become less and less effective at keeping us safe in a crash as we age. We discuss this more in our blog Older Drivers: Getting Educated.
Older women need to pay special attention to find the best car to protect them in a crash. We discuss the reasons why in our blog Why Women Need More Protection in Cars. In a nutshell, car safety has been designed with the young male body in mind. This puts women at a disadvantage because they are less protected in a crash than a man. Consequently, women need to be more selective in picking the car that best protects them.
Vehicles Women Should Avoid As They Age
There are many activities that women tend to avoid as they age. For example, wearing a bikini or wearing spike heels. The reasons for changing behaviors may differ among the ladies making these choices. However, when it comes to cars, we recommend that older women again re-think their choices. In particular, we have found that there are some vehicles that should be avoided as women age because these vehicles do not offer sufficient protection in a severe crash for the older female driver.
The bottom line: some vehicles are safer for your daughter than they are for you, as demonstrated by our Auto Grades.
Here is our list of vehicles and model years (MY) that women should avoid as they age. We list the Auto Grade for the youngest female drivers versus the Auto Grade for the female drivers aged 51 years and older:
- Honda CR-V, MY 2017-2022: A versus C
- Subaru Impreza WRX, MY 2017-2019: B versus C-
- Volkswagen Passat, MY 2012-2019: A versus C
- Chevrolet Cruze, MY 2016-2019: A- versus C
- Chevrolet Impala, MY 2014-2019: A- versus D
- Kia Forte, MY 2014-2019: A- versus D-
We made this list to help you to make an informed decision before you get behind the wheel. On the more positive side, we have also compiled lists of our top picks for female drivers:
Again, we encourage you to always check the Auto Grade for any vehicle that you or your family members are considering buying.
