The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has added new needs for cars to earn Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick designations in 2024, adding new functionality criteria for the protection of rear passengers and pedestrians. As a result, far fewer cars get this year’s Top Safety Pick score than last year, yet the cars on this year’s list are safer than ever.
By 2024, 22 cars won the Top Safety Pick award, while 49 won the Top Safety Pick award. Most of the winners are small and midsize SUVs. Few cars and trucks have earned this designation this year, which IIHS President David Harkey attributes to the existing dominance of SUVs in the market. Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, which have a percentage ownership of the company, win top prizes overall. Toyota and Lexus occupy the second position and Mazda the third.
This year, to get the Maximum Safety Choice, cars will need to score Acceptable or Good on an updated moderate frontal crash test, which adds a dummy in the seat behind the driver to assess the rear-seat crash. Protección. La test mimics what happens if a vehicle crosses a midline and 40% of its front end hits an oncoming vehicle of the same length at 40 mph. Vehicles must also have an impact on achieving a good score on an updated skin. in check brought in 2021.
The IIHS, funded through the insurance industry, has been testing automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection since 2019. However, as part of some other update to its award requirements, this is the first year a vehicle will need to complete to achieve an Acceptable or Good Score for combined functionality in sunlight and dark light situations to achieve Best Safety Choice status. Last year, a car could win the name Best Safety Choice just because of its daylight hour functionality. According to the IIHS, this replacement is part of a new approach to protecting all road users, not just those inside the car.
“There is still room for improvement in the protection that vehicles provide to their occupants, as evidenced by the advent of the updated moderate overlap test,” Harkey said in a statement. “But many of the biggest long-term gains will come from automakers and policymakers, and from all of us as car buyers and drivers, who take action to protect everyone on the road, and not just our own families. “
As always, cars will have to protect their occupants in low-overlap frontal crash tests on the driver’s and passenger’s side. These tests mimic a collision with a tree, a telephone pole, or the front corner of an oncoming car. It will be supplied with high-performance headlights on all trim lines.
The IIHS says it will continue to announce winners as it completes testing, and that more cars will most likely be added to the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick lists as automakers make adjustments to their functionality in the updated moderate overlay. crash test.
Adapting those coveted assessments to include tests and technologies that reflect where and how other people are killed or injured makes cars safer over time, says Jennifer Stockburger, chief operating officer of Consumer Reports’ Automotive Test Center. “Each iteration represents the next step in identifying cars with higher degrees of safety, a key detail for the consumer when choosing a vehicle for themselves and their family,” he says. This applies to both the interiors and exteriors of the vehicle.
Backseat protection is important, says Emily A. Thomas, PhD, director of automotive safety at Consumer Reports. But progress in protecting front passengers has outpaced that of the rear seat. “Consumer Reports has rewarded brands for incorporating complex generation protection in the rear seat since 2021, and IIHS assessments compare the implementation of those protection systems,” he says. Together, the two systems advance the protection of rear-seat passengers. “
Small CarsAcura IntegraMazda Hatchback & SedanToyota Prius
Midsize CarsHonda Accord Hyundai Ioniq 6
Large carGenesis Electrified G80Genesis G80 (built after October 2023)Genesis G90 (built after October 2023)
Small SUVsGenesis GV60Honda HR-VHyundai KonaMazda CX-30Mazda CX-50 (manufactured after August 2023)
Midsize SUVsFord ExplorerHonda Pilot (style year 2025)Kia TellurideMazda CX-90Nissan Pathfinder (built after November 2023)Subaru Ascent
Midsize luxury SUVAcura MDXBMW X3Genesis GV80 (built after August 2023)Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class (with forward collision avoidance system)Tesla Model Y
Small CarsHyundai ElantraSubaru ImprezaToyota Prius Prime
Midsize CarsHyundai SonataSubaru Outback Toyota Camry
Large CarToyota Crown
Mid-size luxury carsBMW Five SeriesMercedes-Benz C-Class
Large carsGenesis G80 (built before November 2023)Genesis G90 (built before November 2023)
Small SUVBMW X1 Honda CR-VHyundai Ioniq 5Hyundai TucsonKia SportageLexus UXLexus RZSubaru Solterra
Midsize SUVsHonda Pilot Hyundai PalisadeHyundai Santa FeJeep Grand CherokeeJeep Grand Cherokee LMazda CX-90 PHEVNissan AriyaToyota HighlanderVolkswagen AtlasVolkswagen Atlas Cross SportVolkswagen ID. 4
Large SUVJeep Wagoneer
Small TruckToyota Tacoma