To win a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, cars must not only pass a litany of tests designed to emulate real-world crash scenarios, but offer exemplary performance in the full spectrum of crash tests. These include earning the IIHS’ highest rating of good in the small overlap front crash test, and in the updated side crash test which uses a heavier barrier to more accurately represent the average car on American roads today. They must also receive either the highest rating of good or the second-highest rating of acceptable in headlight tests and in the pedestrian front crash prevention test, as well as the updated moderate overlap front test, which accounts for rear seat occupant protection as well as front seat occupant protection.
The IIHS also gives normal Top Safety Pick awards, which don’t account for vehicle performance in its most-recently added crash test, the updated moderate overlap front test. This test was recently updated, and now includes a child-sized crash test dummy behind the driver’s seat. The addition of the rear seat dummy has proven difficult for many vehicles to excel in, as proven by the significantly higher number of Top Safety Pick winners than Top Safety Pick+ winners.
If you want to know what cars are considered the safest of the safe, we’ve rounded up all of the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick+ winners.