Safest Used Cars Under £10,000
16th Jun 2021
By Nathan Dale
What are the safest used cars?
Whether you're a teenager just starting out driving or a mum of three, safety is an important consideration when you're buying a used car. Therefore, you'll be pleased to learn that for a £10,000 budget you can get some fantastically safe used cars, with plenty rated at five stars (at the time they were tested) for safety by crash test experts Euro NCAP.
Car safety has advanced massively over the last 15 years, so much so that Euro NCAP have had to change and adapt their testing methods and scoring systems regularly over the last few years to ensure standards are consistently improved.
With this in mind, it's worth noting that given the age of the cars required to meet the £10,000 budget, reported Euro NCAP scores are based on pre-2020 testing rules that were less dependent (but still very strict overall) on advanced safety technologies such as blindspot monitoring and lane keeping assist.
Nonetheless, all the cars listed below are very safe cars for you and your family.
Fiat 500L
Made famous in the hit TV show 'Peter Kay's Car Share', the Fiat 500L is the roomy cousin of the Fiat's immensely popular 500 city car.
Its larger frame and sturdy construction gave it a solid safety base to work from, and the official five-star Euro NCAP safety rating is testament to its numerous safety features, which include:
- Safety cell with twin front windscreen pillars to improve strength
- Steering column that's designed to collapse in a frontal impact
- Six airbags
- Five three-point safety belts
- Automatic emergency braking
- Electronic stability control
Fiat 500L crash test individual category scores were as follows:
Adult occupant protection: 94 percent
Child occupant protection: 78 percent
Safety assist features: 71 percent
Ford Fiesta ST
Here to show that even fast and fun cars can be safe, the Ford Fiesta ST is one of the great used car bargains out there. It provides stonking performance and great driver involvement for not much money, with many examples now under £10,000.
It's very safe too; both the current and previous generation Fiesta are five-star cars according to Euro NCAP, but it's the 2012 version we're looking at for the price point. Safety features on ST-2 models included:
- Hill start assist
- Driver, passenger, side, curtain and driver knee airbags
- Electronic stability program
- Traction control
- Tyre pressure monitoring system
Fiesta crash test scores (from 2012) were as follows:
Adult occupant protection: 91 percent
Child occupant protection: 86 percent
Safety assist features: 71 percent
Nissan Juke
The Nissan Juke is considered a Marmite car in terms of its styling, but it's certainly not made from yeast extract as it achieved a five-star safety rating when tested by Euro NCAP.
Many people have turned to crossovers and SUVs as they make them feel safer, and the Juke's highly stable passenger compartment contributed heavily to its five-star safety rating, as did features like:
- Six airbags
- Electronic stability control
- Rear ISOFIX child seat anchor points
- Traction control
- ABS
The crash test scores for the Nissan Juke were:
Adult occupant protection: 87 percent
Child occupant protection: 81 percent
Safety assist features: 71 percent
Citroën C3 Aircross
At under £10,000 the Citroën C3 Aircross is a great value used car, especially considering the level of advanced safety kit on offer.
Tested as recently as 2017 (that's when the C3 Aircross came out in the UK) this small but spacious SUV scored a maximum five stars. It's not surprising when all of the follow safety features are fitted:
- Driver, passenger, side and chest airbags
- Speed sign recognition
- Lane keeping assist
- ABS
- Autonomous emergency braking (on higher grades)
The crash test scores for the C3 Aircross were:
Adult occupant protection: 85 percent
Child occupant protection: 82 percent
Safety assist features: 60 percent
Search Used Citroën C3 Aircross
Kia Venga
The Kia Venga is notable for being compact on the outside yet really roomy on the inside. Its taller body means that head and legroom is maximised for both front and rear passengers, and Kia have done their best to make the styling a bit funkier, too.
As a car targeted at family use, Kia ensured that the Venga was fitted with all the right gear to guarantee a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. Features include:
- Electronic stability control
- Electronic brakeforce distribution
- Driver, curtain and side airbags
- Height adjustable front seatbelts
- Hill start assist
The crash test scores for the Kia Venga were:
Adult occupant protection: 89 percent
Child occupant protection: 85 percent
Safety assist features: 71 percent
Hyundai ix20
Truth be told, most of Hyundai's used car range is available for under £10,000 and scored five stars when they were crash tested, demonstrating Hyundai's commitment to safety.
We've picked out the ix20 which is a quirky compact MPV with a roomy interior and high standard specification, which includes safety technology such as:
- Six airbags
- ABS
- Rear ISOFIX child seat anchor points
- Electronic stability programme
- Electronic brake force distribution
- Active front head restraints
Like the other cars in this list, the ix20 impresses in the individual safety categories:
Adult occupant protection: 89 percent
Child occupant protection: 85 percent
Safety assist features: 71 percent
Mazda 3
Most modern family hatchbacks, such as the Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf, come with a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, and the Mazda 3 is no different.
It's a good-looking alternative to some of the more mainstream family hatches, and it drives well too. Standard safety equipment includes:
- Six airbags
- Traction control
- Electronic stability control
- Seat belt reminder
- Rear ISOFIX child seat anchor points
- ABS
The Mazda 3 scores well across the board for safety:
Adult occupant protection: 93 percent
Child occupant protection: 86 percent
Safety assist features: 81 percent
Renault Captur
A compact SUV that's similar in size to the Nissan Juke, the Renault Captur has been a hit with UK buyers as both a new and used car since its introduction in 2013.
Renault were keen for the Captur to be as safe as it could be, and the engineers worked hard to ensure that electronic safety systems were triggered as soon as possible to provide occupants with maximum protection. Features include:
- Six airbags
- Seat belt pretensioners
- Five three-point seat belts
- Side impact detection sensors
- Front passenger and rear ISOFIX child seat anchor points
- Electronic stability control
The Captur's all-round safety scores are more than decent:
Adult occupant protection: 88 percent
Child occupant protection: 79 percent
Safety assist features: 81 percent
Volvo V40
Volvo have a remarkable track record for safety, and are known for introducing a number of industry-first safety features that have since become standard on the majority of new cars sold in Europe and the rest of the world.
The V40 maintains Volvo's safety-first philosophy, and in 2012 recorded the best score ever achieved in Euro NCAP testing, thanks to inclusions of features such as:
- Whiplash protection system
- Blindspot monitoring
- Pedestrian airbag
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Lane keeping aid
- Knee airbag
The Volvo V40's marks in the individual categories are fantastic too:
Adult occupant protection: 98 percent
Child occupant protection: 75 percent
Safety assist features: 100 percent
Peugeot 3008
When it was launched, the Peugeot 3008 aimed to bridge the gap between SUV and MPV, and proved popular with buyers looking for a family car.
Safety is a top priority of any family MPV, and the 3008 doesn't skimp on safety features, achieving a top five-star rating when tested by Euro NCAP. Those features include:
- Seat belt pretensioners
- Rear ISOFIX child seat anchor points
- Six airbags
- Electronic stability control
- Traction control
- Five three-point seat belts
Individual safety scores for the Peugeot 3008 were:
Adult occupant protection: 86 percent
Child occupant protection: 81 percent
Safety assist features: 97 percent
Find your perfect safe used car at Evans Halshaw
Thanks to the rapid advancement of automotive safety technologies in recent years, there are plenty of extremely safe used cars available of all different shapes and sizes for a budget of just £10,000. You can even find several different cars that fit three child seats in the back as well as many safe used 7-seaters.
To check the safety credentials of a car that isn't in this list, just visit the Euro NCAP website and select the make and model you're looking at - virtually every car ever sold in the UK over the last 20 years has been tested. Search all our used cars to find the perfect safe used car for you.
