How Much It Costs To Drive 2020’s Safest Vehicles

Consider these vehicles when making your next purchase.

By Andrew Lisa Aug 22, 2020 Auto Loans 101

For anyone in the market for a new car, the choice between cost and safety doesn’t have to be a choice at all. Dozens of 2020 trucks, cars and SUVs that are among the most affordable in their class are also some of the best rated in terms of safety.

There are 49 vehicles on this list, and only one of them (barely) breaches the $40,000 mark — in fact, that vehicle has a starting MSRP of $40,000 exactly. Another 15 vehicles are in the $30,000s, but the overwhelming majority of those are priced below $35,000. That leaves 33 vehicles priced below $30,000, 22 of which are in the $20,000s. Another 11 brand new 2020 models are there for the taking for less than $20,000.

None of them, however, skimp on safety.

GOBankingRates used Kelley Blue Book and U.S. News & World Report for inspiration in identifying the safest 2020 models on the road. In order to generate this list, five factors were analyzed for each vehicle: starting MSRP, overall safety ranking, frontal crash safety ranking, side crash safety ranking and rollover safety ranking — all safety ratings were out of five stars.

The team then scored, weighted and ranked the results in ascending order from worst to best, with the best having the top score in terms of both safety and affordability.

If you do choose one of these cars or trucks for yourself, you’ll likely feel good about your purchase for years to come. Many of these vehicles are not only affordable upfront but, in terms of five-year ownership costs and reliability, also rank high as being good cars to own over time.

Last updated: Aug. 18, 2020

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49. Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 3
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 3

Your cost to drive: $34,600

48. GMC Sierra 2500 HD Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 3

Your cost to drive: $40,000

47. Toyota Tundra Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 3

Your cost to drive: $33,575

46. GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $37,560

45. Ram 2500 Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $33,895

44. Ford F250 Regular Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $33,705

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43. Ford F150 Super Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $32,830

42. Ford F150 Regular Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $28,745

41. Chevrolet Silverado 1500

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $28,500

40. Jeep Grand Cherokee

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $34,000

39. Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $26,050

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38. Hyundai Elantra

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 4
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $19,300

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37. Ram 1500 Crew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $32,145

36. Kia Telluride

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $31,890

35. Ford F150 SuperCrew Cab

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $35,285

34. Honda Ridgeline

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $33,900

33. Nissan Sentra

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $19,090

32. Subaru Ascent

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $31,995

31. Hyundai Palisade

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $31,975

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30. Ford Edge

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $31,100

29. Kia Forte

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $17,890

28. Kia Soul

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $17,490

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27. Ford Fusion

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $23,170

26. Volkswagen Passat

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $22,995

25. Subaru Crosstrek

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $22,145

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24. Hyundai Accent

NHTSA overall safety rating: 4
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $15,295

23. Nissan Maxima

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $34,250

22. Volkswagen Jetta

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $18,895

21. Mazda CX-5

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $25,190

20. Ford Escape

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $24,885

19. Subaru Forester

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $24,495

18. Mazda 6

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $24,100

17. Chevrolet Equinox

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $23,800

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16. Hyundai Tucson

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $23,550

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15. Subaru WRX

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $27,495

14. Honda Civic

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 4
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $20,650

13. Mazda CX-3

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $20,390

12. Hyundai Kona

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $20,300

11. Toyota Corolla

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $19,600

10. Toyota Camry

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $24,425

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9. Honda Accord

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $24,020

8. Kia Optima

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $23,390

7. Chevrolet Sonic

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $16,720

6. Honda Insight

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $22,930

5. Honda Fit

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $16,190

4. Subaru Legacy

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $22,745

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3. Toyota Yaris

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 4

Your cost to drive: $15,650

2. Mazda 3

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $21,500

1. Subaru Impreza

NHTSA overall safety rating: 5
Overall frontal crash safety rating: 5
Overall side crash safety rating: 5
Rollover crash safety rating: 5

Your cost to drive: $18,695

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: In order to discover the safest and most affordable car and truck models of 2020, GOBankingRates looked for inspiration from U.S. News & World Report and Kelley Blue Book rankings for safe 2020 models. Once top-ranking models were identified, GOBankingRates found each car’s (1) starting MSRP from individual company websites; (2) overall safety ranking out of five stars; (3) frontal crash safety ranking out of five stars; (4) side crash safety rating out of five stars; and (5) rollover safety ranking out of five stars, all sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Factors No. 2-5 were then combined to give (6) an overall star ranking out of 20. Then, factors No. 1 and 6 were scored and combined with the lowest score being best. In the final calculations, factor No. 1 was weighted 1 1/2 times and factor No. 6 was weighted 2 times. All data was collected on and is up to date as of June 11, 2020.

About the Author

Andrew Lisa

Andrew Lisa has been writing professionally since 2001. An award-winning writer, Andrew was formerly one of the youngest nationally distributed columnists for the largest newspaper syndicate in the country, the Gannett News Service. He worked as the business section editor for amNewYork, the most widely distributed newspaper in Manhattan, and worked as a copy editor for TheStreet.com, a financial publication in the heart of Wall Street's investment community in New York City.