The U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced that 38 models earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating—led by nine Toyota/Lexus vehicles—and another 44 received a Top Safety Pick honour for 2017.
IIHS toughened the criteria for Top Safety Pick+ to reflect new headlight evaluations launched in 2016. The recognition program is meant to encourage manufacturers to offer state-of-the-art protection for people in crashes, along with features that help drivers avoid crashes in the first place. In addition to good or acceptable headlights, the latter includes automatic braking technology, which has been part of the criteria since 2015.
"The field of contenders is smaller this year because so few vehicles have headlights that do their job well, but it's not as small as we expected when we decided to raise the bar for the awards," says Adrian Lund, IIHS president. "Manufacturers are focusing on improving this basic safety equipment, and we're confident that the winners' list will grow as the year progresses."
For both awards, models must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention with standard or optional autobrake. Headlights are factored in only for the top award.
2017 Top Safety Pick+ winners
- Acura MDX
- Acura RDX
- Audi Q5
- Audi A4
- Buick Envision
- Chevrolet Volt
- Chrysler Pacifica (built after August 2016)
- Genesis G80
- Genesis G90
- Honda Accord
- Honda Pilot
- Honda Ridgeline
- Hyundai Santa Fe (built after March 2016)
- Hyundai Elantra (built after March 2016)
- Lexus RC
- Lexus ES 350
- Lexus NX
- Lexus RX
- Mazda3 / Mazda3 Sport
- Mazda6
- Mazda CX-3
- Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
- Mitsubishi Outlander
- Nissan Rogue
- Nissan Altima
- Nissan Maxima
- Subaru Forester (built after October 2016)
- Subaru Legacy
- Subaru Outback
- Toyota Camry
- Toyota Corolla
- Toyota Prius (built after August 2016)
- Toyota Prius v
- Toyota RAV4
- Volkswagen Jetta
- Volvo S60
- Volvo V60
- Volvo XC60
2017 Top Safety Pick winners
- Acura ILX
- Acura RLX
- Audi A6
- Audi A3
- Audi Q7
- BMW 2 Series
- BMW X1
- Chevrolet Malibu
- Chrysler 200
- Fiat 500X
- Ford Fusion
- GMC Acadia
- Honda Accord
- Honda Civic
- Honda Civic Coupe
- Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- Hyundai Sonata
- Hyundai Tucson
- Infiniti QX60
- Infiniti Q70 (except V8 AWD models)
- Lincoln MKX
- Kia Optima
- Kia Sedona
- Kia Sportage
- Kia Sorento
- Lexus CT 200h
- Lincoln MKZ
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- MINI Cooper
- Nissan Sentra
- Nissan Murano
- Nissan Pathfinder
- Subaru Crosstrek
- Subaru WRX
- Toyota Yaris iA
- Toyota Avalon
- Volkswagen Golf
- Volkswagen Golf Alltrack
- Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen
- Volkswagen GTI
- Volkswagen Passat
- Volvo S90
- Volvo XC90