Five of the safest small cars on sale in 2026

Looking for a new compact family-friendly runaround? There’s plenty of buyer choice in the small car category, including several new budget electric cars that have arrived on UK roads in the last 12 months. But which cars have stand-out safety credentials?

Car safety features will always be an important factor when choosing your next family car, as strong safety credentials provide peace of mind and protection in the event of an accident.

Small cars aren’t traditionally associated with strong safety, with many car buyers simply assuming that “bigger is better”. Thankfully, that attitude is changing as car brands now tend to fit their smallest models with on-board safety systems that even the most expensive luxury cars didn’t have a decade or so ago.

The organisation we consult to find out a car’s safety credentials in the UK is Euro NCAP, which independently tests new cars in every aspect of vehicle safety, over and above the bare minimum legal requirements. Though it may take a few months or years after the car’s official arrival, the organisation’s goal is to assess the safety of all new mainstream cars. Euro NCAP rates each car in four areas: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection (mainly cyclists and pedestrians) and safety assistance technology (accident avoidance and mitigation). The car is then given an overall star rating out of five.

A handful of new small cars are put through their paces by Euro NCAP each year, some faring better than others. For example, the compact Dacia Spring EV arrived in 2025 but only has a one-star safety rating.

Also missing from this list are the highly regarded Renault 4 and Renault 5 models, which have been awarded four stars out of five. Our top five picks below, which include both petrol and electric models, have all been awarded a full five-star rating.

Euro NCAP regularly updates its test standards to reflect ongoing technology developments. Because of this, we’ve only included models assessed over the past three years, as a five-star model assessed in 2022 might not necessarily be a five-star car today.

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Here at The Car Expert, we firmly believe that safety is a core component of any new car. Our unique Expert Rating Index includes the full Euro NCAP results for all cars tested and keeps them up to date, as well as incorporating these safety credentials into the car’s overall score.

Five of the safest new small cars

All of our picks below are fitted with features to both help prevent collisions and protect occupants if a crash can’t be avoided. These include autonomous emergency braking, software to detect driver fatigue and a system to notify emergency services when a crash happens.

Keep in mind that, while older models on this list tested at an earlier date may have higher scores across the categories, five-star safety credentials are tougher to achieve in 2026 as Euro NCAP toughens its assessment scoring year-on-year.

Mini Cooper

Safety rating

Let’s kick things off with the only petrol-powered option on this five-car list – the Mini Cooper. Euro NCAP hasn’t tested many pure petrol small cars in the last couple of years, simply because car brands usually launch electric models in this size category these days. Nevertheless, the fourth-generation Mini has stand-out safety credentials, particularly when compared to petrol-powered rivals like the MG 3, Citroën C3 and Toyota Yaris, which have also been crash tested in the last three years.

The Mini Cooper was awarded five-star safety credentials by Euro NCAP in September 2025, with strong scores across all four categories. The car demonstrated good protection against whiplash injuries in multiple crash scenarios and has an ‘active bonnet’ system that lifts the bonnet in a collision to reduce injury to a pedestrian.

The Mini Cooper currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A in our industry-leading Expert Rating Index, with a score of 71%.

Skoda Elroq

Safety rating

Yes, we are crossing into small SUV territory here, but if you are on the lookout for a family car with stellar safety credentials and a smart and spacious interior full of clever and practical features, the Skoda Elroq more than earns its place on this list.

Winner of The Car Expert’s Car of the Year title for 2026, the Elroq holds the highest adult and child occupant crash safety scores of any car on this list.

The Skoda Elroq currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A with a score of 81% in our Expert Rating Index, which puts it near the top of the small SUV segment.

MG 4 Urban

Safety rating

The newest model on this list, the MG 4 Urban serves as a cheaper and more compact alternative to the award-winning MG 4 hatchback, and it passed its Euro NCAP tests with flying colours in February – highlighted for its impressive driver and passenger protection in the event of a collision.

This new addition to the small car market also boasts the (joint) highest vulnerable road users score amongst its peers, meaning that it provides the best protection for pedestrians and cyclists in the even of a crash.

While the electric car has already been put through its paces by Euro NCAP, we are waiting for further reviews and running cost estimations for the hatchback before we give the MG 4 Urban a full-fat Expert Rating score. Considering its five-star safety credentials and positive initial reviewer reception, it’s likely that the MG will land a solid overall rating in the months ahead.

BYD Dolphin

Safety rating

The all-electric BYD Dolphin was assessed by Euro NCAP back in October 2023, and despite the rather polarising name, it is a stand-out choice for safety-conscious family car buyers.

The Dolphin has the (joint) highest child occupant protection and vulnerable road user protection (pedestrians and cyclists) scores of any car on this list, and it performed well in the adult protection and safety tech categories too.

The BYD Dolphin currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A with a score of 76%, which puts it towards the very top end of the small car category in our Expert Rating Index.

BYD Dolphin Surf

Safety rating

We’ve mentioned the Dolphin – now for its newer city car cousin. While they share a similar name, the smaller Dolphin Surf is an entirely different car built with navigating tight city streets in mind, rather than ferrying a family of four around town.

While the Dolphin Surf doesn’t particularly stand out in any of Euro NCAP’s test categories when compared to other options on this list, it is the only pint-sized city car on the market with a valid five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, far surpassing similarly sized models like the Fiat 500 Electric.

The model also has a slightly higher child occupant protection score than the larger MG 4 Urban, which is impressive when you consider that the BYD is roughly 30 centimetres shorter than the MG.

The BYD Dolphin Surf currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A with a score of 71% in our Expert Rating Index – a commendable score that puts it towards the top of the small car segment.

Not interested in making the all-electric switch just yet? Beyond the Mini Cooper, there are still plenty of petrol-powered superminis you can buy new today, but haven’t been safety tested in the last three years. Nevertheless, all the car’s listed below have been awarded full five-star safety ratings by Euro NCAP, all of which are still valid.

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