10 of the safest cars you can lease for your family

If you’re on the hunt for your next car lease, safety is likely high on your priority list – especially if you’re shopping around for a family wagon.

There’s been a bit of a revolution in car safety over the last decade or so.

New technologies – like adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings and traction control – becoming standard kit, alongside the old guard of features like airbags, ISOFix points and anti-lock brakes.

The European New Car Assessment Programme, or Euro NCAP, gives you a good idea of which cars are rated the safest. Euro NCAP puts vehicles through rigorous tests that represent real-life collision-based scenarios to understand their overall safety performance.

Each car tested is awarded a score from zero to five stars, as well as separate percentage points for four additional categories: adult occupant, child occupant, vulnerable road users and safety assist.

The higher the score, the safer the car for those inside and out.

As well as keeping our loved ones safe, we all want to make sure pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users are protected – as much as they can be. The vulnerable road user protection score gives you an idea of how well your car protect those road users in the event of a collision.

It tests the potential risk of injuries to a pedestrian’s head, pelvis and leg, and awards the score accordingly.

Along with the valuable work our charity partner Brake are doing to make our roads safer, manufacturers have a duty of care to make sure our cars are as safe as possible – and Euro NCAP helps quantify this.

Armed with the knowledge of how safe your car is, you’ll have peace of mind when it comes to picking your next car lease deal.

Though no safety score can ever be completely perfect and entirely prevent road incidents, we’ve picked through the data and pulled out 10 of our safest family car lease deals.

You can keep your family safer without having to burn a massive hole in your wallet – it’s a win/win.

Volkswagen ID.4

Volkswagen ID.4

The Volkswagen ID.4 straddles some of the most popular car features of the moment – it’s electric, it’s a crossover SUV, and it’s good-looking.

Its launch made a lot of sense for the German brand. The VW ID.4 offers crossover-SUV lovers something a little eco-friendlier in a class jam-packed with very good combustion engine cars.

With a choice of two battery variants, the ID.4 has a competitive WLTP claimed range of between 224 and 337 miles. It’s efficient and spacious, and makes an excellent choice for a family wagon.

And it’s safe, according to the rigorous Euro NCAP testing it went through in 2021.

Not only does the VW ID.4 take top marks with the full five-star score, but it also scores 93% in the adult occupant category, 89% in child occupant, and 85% for safety assist.

Browse our best Volkswagen ID 4 lease deals

Polestar 2

Polestar 2

There are no prizes for guessing why the Polestar 2 has made the list.

Coming from the brand that once built racing cars for Volvo, famously one of the safest manufacturers around, Polestar knows a thing or two about building cars that look good, drive good, and keep their occupants as safe as they can.

And the Swedish company has become a Big Player, with the capital B and P, in the EV market over the past few years.

The Polestar 2 is the cream of the current lineup, and sits pretty as Polestar’s smallest car. 

It’s officially designated a fastback – sort of a hatchback with a sloping roofline – but that doesn’t stop it being an excellent car for smaller families looking for an electric option that isn’t an SUV.

Even if you’ve not contemplated going electric, you’ll love this one. As fresh as a breath of air in a Nordic forest, it’s a good option for your next electric lease.

And it’s safe, with a five-star Euro NCAP score and plenty of safety kit to assist you as you’re driving.

Browse our best Polestar 2 lease deals

*Image shows an older model - there is a new Polestar 2 available

MG4 EV

MG4 EV

Another hatchback option, the MG4 EV is another good one if you’ve a small family and you’re looking for a safe electric car.

It’s good-looking too, with its bold paint options and sharp angles.

You won’t be losing this one in a multi-storey carpark, that’s for almost certain. We say almost. I could definitely still lose it.

The MG4 EV is one of the more affordable electric cars on the market too, without compromising on performance or range for the price. It has a WLTP Comb range of up to 323 miles, depending on which model you go for, and the cabin is surprisingly spacious.

And with a five-star Euro NCAP score and plenty of safety tech, including automatic emergency braking, speed assistance and a lane assist system, the MG4 EV is a good option for a smaller car.

Browse our best MG4 lease deals

Audi A3

Audi A3 Sportback

Another hatchback with a sloping roofline – but a combustion engine one this time – the Audi A3 Sportback is one of the best premium hatchbacks money can lease.

While you might think you need an SUV to cart your family around in, you might be surprised by just how much you can fit in a decent-sized hatch.

And the Audi A3 is a decent-sized hatch indeed. Well-built, good-looking, and finished to a high standard, you can’t really go wrong. In fact, it’s proved such a good seller for Audi, that it’s barely been changed since launch.

A few little tweaks here and there to keep it up-to-date, but the Audi A3-ness of it has remained.

With a five-star Euro NCAP score, including an 89% adult occupant score and 81% child occupant score, it’s safe too. The best of all the worlds – you just can’t go wrong.

Browse our best Audi A3 lease deals

Tesla Model Y

Tesla Model Y 

The Tesla Model Y quickly became a best-seller for the American manufacturer after its launch into the UK in 2022.

Looking like a beefier Tesla Model 3, the Model Y is a roomy SUV that makes for an excellent choice if you need something a bit more spacious for a growing family – even if that family is of the furry kind.

There’s more than enough room for elbows and shoulders in the front, and space enough for three in the back – without too many arguments. Though we can never guarantee that one.

The Tesla Model Y has been awarded the full five-star score from Euro NCAP, and all variants come as standard with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and extra luxuries like adaptive cruise control.

It has an emphasis on security too, with one of many innovative Tesla features being an additional measure called Sentry Mode.

When enabled, this mode uses the car’s external cameras to start recording if the vehicle is approached when locked, saving the footage to a USB drive.

If you’re after something luxurious and safe, the Tesla Model Y should definitely be on your shortlist.

Browse our best Tesla Model Y lease deals

Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen Golf 

The Volkswagen Golf has always managed to bridge the gap between a mainstream family car and a pricier premium alternative quite nicely.

Despite being fifty years old (we know, it doesn’t look it – you’ve got those lovely generational facelifts to thank) the Golf still holds up as one of the best family hatchbacks on the market.

The latest generations are jam-packed with the latest technologies, including front and rear parking sensors, a 10in infotainment screen and a built-in sat nav.

And it scores top marks on the safety front too, with a five-star Euro NCAP score and impressive 87% in the child safety category, making it an excellent choice for those with young families to think about.

The VW Golf is packed with a host of safety features to help it achieve that score.

As standard, it comes with automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, a driver fatigue monitor and traffic sign recognition.

But the Golf isn’t just safe: it’s supremely versatile, with room in the boot for the weekly shop or a buggy, and there’s plenty of space in the cabin for a family – and storage enough to tidy away all your odds and ends.

Browse our best Volkswagen Golf lease deals

Kia Sportage

Kia Sportage 

There’s no shortage of family SUVs to pick from, especially when you’re looking on the more compact crossover SUV end, but the Kia Sportage still manages to stand out with its dramatic styling and well-equipped trims.

The interior is smart and spacious, with plenty of leg and head room (even for those above six foot), and there’s a generous amount of storage. Door pockets large enough for a bottle of water, a lidded centre cubby box, trays for your phone, a good-sized glovebox and more.

It’s a practical car for anyone looking for their next family lease.

There are plenty of trims to choose from, the boot clocks in at 591L, and all versions come equipped with automatic LED headlights, auto wipers, a rear-view camera and parking sensors.

It scores highly in the safety arena too, with a five-star Euro NCAP score, and good percentages for both adult and child safety. And Kia’s market-leading seven-year manufacturer warranty provides extra peace of mind.

If you’re after a compact SUV, you can’t go wrong with the Kia Sportage.

Browse our best Kia Sportage lease deals

Hyundai Tucson

Hyundai Tucson

There’s something about the Hyundai Tucson that just conjures an image of family adventures. Something about the back end of it that screams ‘drive me into the mountains and go car camping’.

And you could, quite safely, with a Hyundai Tucson lease, if you so wished.

But it’s also an excellent option if you just need a decent, solid family wagon to cart a larger family around.

While not available as a full EV, it is available as a hybrid, which makes it more efficient and keeps more of your hard-earned cash in your pocket.

With its five-star Euro NCAP score and range of safety systems, including blind-spot collision assist, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic collision assist and smart cruise control, the Hyundai Tucson remains an excellent option for a family car lease.

Browse our best Hyundai Tucson lease deals

Skoda Octavia

Skoda Octavia 

Though the crossover SUV has become the king of the family car market, the SKODA Octavia estate is still an excellent choice: it looks good, it’s more economical, and it’s just as practical.

It might not be the ‘fashionable’ choice. But it is a sensible one.

The interior is spacious, with more than enough room for five adults to stretch out on long journeys. 

It’s also packed with plenty of clever touches, including flip-out hooks in the boot, storage for umbrellas in the front doors, an ice-scraper under the fuel filler cap and a USB-C port above the rear-view mirror for a dashcam.

The boot is generous too. It can fit in nine carry-on suitcases under the parcel shelf, which is only two less than the cavernous SKODA Superb.

And when it comes to safety, the SKODA Octavia boasts the full five-star score, with plenty of on-board safety tech, including automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist and an e-Call system that notifies the emergency services if you’re involved in a collision.

Browse our best SKODA Octavia lease deals

Volvo C40

Volvo EC40 

Formerly known as the Volvo C40 before it had a little badge change to bring it in line with the rest of the Volvo electric SUV line-up, the Volvo EC40 is another very good electric option.

If you’re a fan of the SUV practicality, but you favour the sleek, sloping look of a coupe, the Volvo EC40 is the car for you.

It’s a coupe SUV, mashing the best of both worlds together, and creating a sort of good-looking Frankenstein’s monster of a car. Based on the very good XC40, but with an electric engine and sloped roofline, the Volvo EC40 is a very good car indeed.

And, being a Volvo, it’s also exceedingly safe.

It achieved a five-star Euro NCAP score back in 2022, with a 92% adult occupant score, 89% child occupant and 89% safety assist. It’s also jam-packed with plenty of safety tech to assist you while driving, including autonomous emergency braking, as well as speed and lane assist systems.

Browse our best Volvo EC40 lease deals.

Your next family car is just a phone call away.

Beth Twigg

Beth Twigg

Beth is our Content Marketing Manager, tasked with creating great articles to keep you both entertained and informed. She has two years previous experience, but has been writing and scribbling for much longer.