What is the safest SUV for women over 50? This is a good question because not all SUVs protect women and men, equally, especially as we age. Whereas men are more likely to be in a crash, women are more likely to be severely injured when a crash occurs. This is due to the fact that cars are built with the male body in mind and there are biological differences between women and men. We discuss this problem in our blog Why Women Need More Protection in Cars. Plus we get more vulnerable to injury as we age. As a result, older women need to be more selective in picking the car that best protects them.

Auto Grades for Women

Herein lies the reason that the scientists at The Auto Professor created the safety rating system called Auto Grades. Ours is the only system that gives a car safety rating, separating women from men, old from young. Using actual fatal crash data, we looked at the driver fatality rates of vehicles by the characteristics of the driver. We grade the safety of the vehicle by how well it protected women versus men and older versus younger drivers. You, as the driver, can use the Auto Grade search engine to find our safety rating for nearly any vehicle. One you own or one you are thinking about buying.

Safest Midsize SUVs for Female Drivers

To make your search more convenient, we compiled the following table of our top picks for female drivers over 50 years old of popular SUVs. In other words, we had lots of data for these popular vehicles and these SUVs earned an A or A- for protecting the older female drivers the best.

Popular SUVs Model Years 2018-2023 with Auto Grades A or A- for Women Over 50

• Chevrolet Suburban
• Chevrolet Tahoe
• Dodge Durango
• Ford Explorer
• Ford Flex
• GMC Yukon
• Honda Pilot
• Jeep Grand Cherokee & Grand Cherokee WK
• Jeep Wrangler, Wrangler JK
• Mercedes GLE Class
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Toyota 4Runner
• Toyota Highlander

Less Popular SUVs But Good Choices for Older Female Drivers

For less popular vehicles, we did not have a lot of data to compile an Auto Grade for women in different age groups. However we were able to rate these vehicles overall. The following list of less popular SUVs received an overall Auto Grade of A or A- and therefore we consider them good choices for all women and men of any age.

Less Popular SUVs Model Years 2018-2023 with Overall Auto Grades of A or A-

• Acura MDX
• Audi Q5, Q7, Q8
• BMW X3, X4, X5 & X6
• Cadillac Escalade & ESV
• Cadillac XT5
• Chevrolet Blazer
• Chevrolet Traverse
• Ford Expedition & MAX
• GMC Acadia
• Infiniti QX60 & QX80
• Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
• Kia Sorento
• Kia Telluride
• Land Rover Discovery & Range Rover & Sport
• Lexus GX, NX
• Lincoln Navigator & Navigator L
• Mercedes GLC Class
• Nissan Armada
• Porsche Cayenne
• Toyota Sequoia, Tundra
• Volkswagen Atlas
• Volkswagen Tiguan & Limited
• Volvo XC60, XC90

These lists offer you, the driver and buyer, a good starting point for picking the best car for you. Always be sure to check the Auto Grade for any vehicle you own or are considering buying.