What is the safest car WITHOUT airbags?

Vehicles without airbags are, as a general rule, unsafe. Since airbags became legally required in the USA in 1998, the last vehicle to be sold without airbags in the USA is the 1997 Land Rover Defender - and it was a niche model. The last mainstream model to be sold without airbags is the 1996 Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Aside from the benefits that airbags themselves provide, any vehicle without airbags is going to lack decades of progress in other car safety areas as well. 

One might think that the safest non-airbag car would be something like a '68 Cadillac, a huge boat just new enough to have 3-point seat belts. But just as car safety has evolved from, say, 1996 to 2018, it evolved from 1968 to 1990 as well. Since airbags became widespread in the early 1990s, the safest car without them would probably have been built in the last few years prior to their adoption. Let's look at a few of the safest cars that didn't include an airbag.  The verdict: 

1989 BMW 5 Series - The "E34" generation of the 5 Series ran for model years 1989 to 1995, but only the introductory model year of 1989 didn't have airbags; a driver bag came standard for '90. That being said, the E34's body structure was exceptionally well designed by early 1990s standards. It was so well designed that it passed a 34 mph, 50% offset crash test without airbags. 

However, compared to a modern car, it still falls short. Today's vehicles are designed to pass a 40 mph, 40% offset test - that's 38% more kinetic energy, concentrated in less space - with less intrusion than this Bimmer exhibited in that 34 mph test. The dummy's head struck the steering wheel with a HIC of 880, unlikely to cause serious injury - but close to 1,000, the threshold where serious injury is likely. A HIC of 880 is typically bad enough to drop the offset rating to Marginal by IIHS standards. If the E34 were tested at 40 mph with a 40% offset, it's likely the occupant compartment would sustain significantly more damage, and it would probably make a Poor rating. 

The next-gen 5 Series, the E39 from 1997 to 2003, made a Good rating without a blemish on its record. IIHS never tested an E34, but I suspect that an airbag equipped model could probably pull out an Acceptable or at least a Marginal rating.