Where are you located? In the U.S. a 2001 vehicle would have front air bags for driver and passenger. (My '99 Jeep has them.) Though if you wear the 3-point seat belts you would be in good shape even without them. That Lancer should also have crumple zones, crash beams in the doors, collapsible steering column, etc., that everything had that year. It's not like driving a 50-60 year-old car with practically no safety equipment at all.

Even though I own 3 Saabs myself I don't recommend them for most people. The company has been gone for a decade now, and most of them that are left are older than that. They are all old cars, mainly suited for people who are already enthusiasts.

Volvo has primarily been a Chinese company for years now and their cars are complex and expensive to service.

So if you want newer safety features, a Camry or Accord would be the best bets, avoiding problem areas which Scotty has discussed in his videos. 

That’s what Scotty inferred, yes.

But I’m assuming you have a manual Lancer. In that case, if the engine is still in good shape, just keep driving it and see how long it’ll last. 

It’s probably worth very little at present and if you’re looking for something modern with airbags, etc, you’ll have to shell out quite a bit.

As to airbags, from what I have read the warranty on those is anyway somewhere between 3 and 5 years, since explosives are used in them, and it is not easy to ensure long-term chemical stability thereof. Hence, if you are truly concerned about safety, you should be regularly replacing your airbags at abovementioned time intervals anyways, also making sure each time that your replacement airbags are "fresh" = have been manufactured recently. This appears an expensive or even technically unrealistic way to go.

Otherwise, when driving an old car with airbags, you just rely (as most people do) on fortune, since old airbags may, or may not, deploy when needed: technically, they are not obliged to... In such a situation, I do not think that an old car with no airbags at all is that much worse / more unsafe than an old car with airbags which are not guaranteed to work... Just thoughts...

Well if you're worried about getting a wreck go right ahead

Yep.

the old Lancer is very unsafe. It got a very poor safety rating even by 90s standards.

https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/mitsubishi/lancer/15487

Volvo safety is great, it’s not only the great crash test scores - it’s volvo accounting for scenarios that aren’t tested.
When a new test category is added Volvo models usually already to treat while others struggle.

But you have to watch out for 1.9T engines being bad, the 6 speed DCTs are very expensive to maintain, some older Aisin 5 speed automatics had issues with the torque convertor creating lots of metallic particles and more, and more.

just post on this forum and tag (@Dan) me before you buy 

The best model Volvo made in my opinion is the P1 family (C30/S40/V50) as you can get them (Im not sure if you can in Australia) with a 2.0L Mazda Miata engine and a solid manual. That powertrain can last you a very long time… they have also offered it with a very sporty turbocharged 5 cylinder engine but unless you get a manual, you really have to inspect that the automatic is in good shape before buying it.

https://youtu.be/Ys2HKrNqAN0
It’s incredible how much they can protect the driver. (The car in the video is an XC70, another very reliable and well built car although sadly in the current market they’re very expensive)

https://youtu.be/A1FFvl1PEcU

Camry and Accords are also very solid cars, if they have reasonable mileage,  and a mechanic checks them out and says they’re in good condition - they’re probably the most reliable cars you can get.

Thanks guys for all the feedback