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2019 was a fantastic year for car safety, and Euro NCAP has highlighted the Best of the Best in class for 2019

Safest cars revealed by Euro NCAP - Best of the Best in class 2019

Each year, Euro NCAP publishes a list of those cars that have performed best in their respective categories during the past 12 months.  	 
Euro NCAP last week published its annual Best in Class for 2019. Fifty-five cars were assessed, of which forty-one achieved the top accolade of a full five stars, which makes 2019 one of the most impressive years on record since Euro NCAP started to evaluate consumer safety of cars on the European market.

Mercedes-Benz regained its crown in the best performing Small Family Car category – this time with the CLA – a sporty alternative to the A-Class Sedan, which won last year’s Best in Class. The CLA achieved a score of more than 90% in three of the four areas of safety and delivered the best overall rating of the year. Mercedes-Benz went on to launch five more five-star vehicles in 2019, all with outstanding crash protection and driver assistance technology.

Tesla also made a strong appearance during 2019 with its Model X declared the winner in the Large Off-Road category, followed by the SEAT Tarraco in second place. The Tesla Model 3 topped the Electric and Hybrid vehicle class and, together with BMW’s 3 Series, shares top spot in the ‘Large Family’ category. The two cars concluded their respective tests with identical overall scores, with the BMW scoring better in pedestrian protection, and the Tesla edging it in Safety Assist. Skoda’s new Octavia was the runner-up in this category.

In the combined Small Off-road/Small MPV class, Subaru won with the new Forester, with excellent all-round performance during testing. Mazda’s new CX-30 and Volkswagen’s T-Cross were close followers in the category. Despite missing out on the top spot, Mazda had a good year, with the new Mazda 3 turning in a creditable performance in adult occupant protection and pipped to second place by the Mercedes-Benz CLA in the ‘Small Family Car’ category.

There was a tie in the Supermini class with the sporty Audi A1 and top-selling Renault Clio, both of which have been among Europe’s most popular and desirable hatchbacks for years. Their latest generations arrived in 2019 and fared equally well in testing. Newcomer Ford Puma was the runner-up in the category. The Supermini segment continues to be the most competitive in the market and the winners deserve credit for their uncompromising stance on safety.

Finally, a special mention went to BMW’s Z4, the only roadster tested in 2019, but set a new safety benchmark for the segment.

Best Large Family Car Hybrid and Electric: Tesla Model 3

Read our exclusive review of the Tesla Model 3!

Best Small Off-Road / MPV: Subaru Forester

With advances in modern technology and video recording equipment, buying a dash is now fairly reasonably priced and a growing trend throughout the UK. We look at how you may be able to benefit from buying one.

Why you should buy a dash cam for your vehicle | HD, 4K, GPS, Wide-angle, Insurance, Footage, Video

If you’ve ever had an accident, especially one that was not your fault, you’ll know how frustrating it can be not being able to prove your innocence. In addition to this, it can be difficult to remember all the precise details of an incident, especially when asked for a full timeline of events. Accidents often happen suddenly, without warning, and can catch us off guard.

Nowadays, with the number of drivers having dash cams fitted, many of these accidents are now caught - in high quality - on camera for all to see.

Some dash cams automatically start recording as soon as you turn the ignition on, and switch off when you turn it off. This is more useful than many might think, as if you have to do it manually it’s all too easy to forget to switch it on. And sod’s law says that’ll be the time you probably end up needing the footage!!

Usually only on the more expensive end of devices, but some may have a screen so you can review the footage there and then without having to put the SD card into a computer.

Similarly, if you buy a dash cam with Wi-fi or Bluetooth enabled then you may be able to transfer the footage straight from the camera to a smartphone wirelessly. This could be a great time saver as you won’t need to remove the SD card and plug it into a computer to download any footage. Just be sure you have enough room on your smartphone memory or this feature will be redundant! Remember, video takes up a lot of space, and most of our phones are usually clogged up with apps, photos and videos we’ve taken at home!

Most dash cams have a very high quality, usually at least HD, and some of the more expensive ones can film at Super HD or 4K. This means that there will be little doubt about who is to blame when it comes to a claim as the footage they produce is usually crystal clear.

Having a wide-angle lens will give a far broader picture than a standard camera and will show almost as much as what the driver behind the wheel can actually see. This could be invaluable in capturing a person or vehicle coming from the side, or to get a greater perspective at junctions, for example. The more information your camera can capture, the better.

More advanced dash cams are equipped with GPS. This means they can track location and speed. Bear in mind though, if it’s tracking speed and you happen to be over the limit if an incident happens, that data will also be sent to the insurers / police. If you’re a legal, safe driver who always obeys the speed limits then this, of course, won’t be an issue. I’m sure that’s you, so you can ignore that point.

A great feature that can detect G-forces inside the vehicle. If the dash cam senses you’ve been involved in an accident, it can automatically contact the police. Coupled with GPS location data this could be a life-saving feature.

With light being so low at night times, if your camera isn’t equipped with a night-vision mode you may not get the best picture. Night-vision mode cameras often have infrared technology giving excellent footage even when visibility to the naked eye is poor.

Some GPS cameras also come with speed camera detection alerts - like you often get with some modern navigational systems. This can be a useful reminder if you’ve accidentally drifted over the limit as you approach a speed camera.

Cleverer dash cams will alert you when it’s too dark outside to get a good quality picture and advise you to turn your lights on. This could be useful for making sure that if there is an accident that the video recorded will be in the best possible quality.

A very simple feature based on a timer, this one will alert you when you’ve been driving continuously for a long period of time and should probably take a break. If you’re used to driving long distances, you’ll know you can very easily end up driving for longer than expected or planned in a single stint without realising how tired you’ve become. A nice and easy safety feature that could just end up saving your life.

Possibly. Some insurance companies will offer reduced premiums if you have one fitted, and, in fact, some insurers make them compulsory for some of their policies. This way, if there is ever a claim, they will have more evidence. Always check with your insurer if they offer a discount if you have a dash cam, and check which dash cams they support.

As per the name, dash cams are usually mounted on a vehicle’s dashboard facing forwards looking at the road ahead. Some may have both front and rear facing cameras in one unit, and some may come with a separate additional camera to be set up at the rear. This can be useful for recording rear-end shunts.

With front-facing cameras it is recommended to put them in a position that gives them the clearest view of the road ahead without blocking the view of the driver. This is often attached just to the passenger side of the rear-view mirror.

Usually not, no. Most dash cams will simply plug into the cigarette lighter or USB port and work “out-of-the-box”. However, always be sure to read the installation manual to make sure it is properly set up and that it is actually recording when you drive. Otherwise, you may end up not having anything to watch back if you were to have an accident. It could also invalidate your insurance if it was a requirement on your policy.

Most dash cams record footage and save onto an SD card. As a general rule, 8 minutes of HD footage will fill a 1GB SD card. Having an SD card slot on your dash cam means you can put in as much memory as you think you may need. Usually, they simply record continuously and when the memory card gets full they simply start deleting the oldest footage to make space for the new footage. This is great as there’s no need to keep old footage of you simply driving to the shop to pick up groceries.

It can do, definitely. Many of us have been driving for many years - or even decades - and most won’t have had any driving training since our initial driving test. This means we will probably have developed some bad habits over the years. It’s perfectly natural.

Watching dash cam footage back can be very insightful, and give us a new perspective on our own driving. It may even prompt us to change the way we drive. For many, the sheer fact that there is a dash cam recording their every move is enough of a reason to review their driving style and be even more careful than they would otherwise.

This will depend entirely on whether you want a cheap basic dash cam or a super advanced one with all the mod cons. Prices can start as low as £25 (or even cheaper for some really basic ones) up to several hundred pounds. Most will have HD quality footage, but in this day and age having 2K or 4K will give you a much superior picture quality.

A dash cam is a relatively inexpensive purchase that could easily save you what it cost (if not more) in the event of an insurance claim. With a myriad of safety features in many of the popular ones too, it is also a great companion that’ll keep you and your passengers safer than without one.

Whichever dash cam you opt for, always make sure that if it’s required by your insurance company that they accept the make and model of the one you have purchased.

Orskey offer a range of fantastic dash cams with some great features included for a relative low price. We would highly  recommend their products as they are very popular in the UK, have excellent online reviews and are great value for money.

Why you should buy a dash cam for your vehicle

Tag: safety

Safest cars revealed by Euro NCAP - Best of the Best in class 2019

Why you should buy a dash cam for your vehicle

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