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13 Cheap Cars with High-end Safety
April 28, 2016
In recent years, active safety features such as autonomous braking, collision warning, and lane assist have been trickling from luxury vehicles to mainstream models.
Car & Driver Magazine this week compiled a list of 13 inexpensive models that you can purchase with advanced active safety features. See below for the full list and details on each one.
If you're currently shopping for a new car, I recommend you use TrueCar No Haggle and CarsDirect to quickly see what kind of deals are being offered in your local area.
| Vehicle | Notes |
|---|---|
| Toyota Prius C | Available with cutting edge safety tech on higher trim levels. Toyota's Safety Sense C suite adds the Pre-Collision system, which can warn you of an impending collision and even apply the brakes to reduce the severity of the crash. |
| Honda Civic | When equipped with Honda Sensing, the Civic can warn of an impending collision, automatically apply the brakes if necessary, and even nudge the car back in its lane if the car senses it's veering out of a lane without an activated turn signal. |
| Nissan Sentra | On the SR and SL grades, you can add adaptive cruise control, forward emergency braking, and lane departure warning |
| Volkswagen Jetta | In higher trim levels or with the Driver Assistance package, the Jetta gains autonomous emergency braking and forward collision warning |
| Mazda CX-3 | offers an i-ActivSense package that includes adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning |
| Subaru Impreza | When equipped with the EyeSight active safety suite, the Impreza is equipped with active cruise control that can come to a complete stop in traffic (some systems deactivate at low speeds), automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning |
| FIAT 500X | can be had with a forward collision warning system and automatic emergency braking |
| Volkswagen Golf | Driver Assist Package includes adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. |
| Jeep Renegade | In the Latitude and Limited trim, the Renegade can be had with automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning |
| Mazda Mazda3 | The Technology package on the S Grand Touring trim takes things up a notch by offering a host of active safety features that include automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. |
| Kia Forte (2017) | now available with active safety features such as automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and blind spot warning. |
| Subaru CrossTrek | offers the EyeSight safety suite, giving you an extra set of eyes on the road. As with the Impreza, the car can apply the brakes automatically if the driver doesn't react to an impending collision |
| Hyundai Elantra (2017) | In the Limited grade, you can add a full suite of active safety features that add an extra layer of protection if you're accidentally drifting into another lane or don't notice an obstacle or slowing car ahead |
3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money
The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network
Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).Select Vehicle to Get Local Pricing
Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect
TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.Step 3 Complete my Checklist
Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.- Gregg Fidan
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