Good news for drivers: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is recognizing 49 models for providing the highest level of safety — more than double the number that earned the TOP SAFETY PICK+ award last year.
Another 41 vehicles earn TOP SAFETY PICK (without the plus), bringing the total number of 2021 award winners to 90, compared with 64 in February 2020.
"With these awards, we want to make it easy for consumers to find vehicles that provide good protection in crashes, sufficient lighting and effective front crash protection," IIHS President David Harkey says. "Manufacturers have stepped up to meet the challenge, and the list of great options has grown to an impressive size this year."
Both awards require good ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness tests — driver- and passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. Award winners must be available with front crash prevention that earns a superior or advanced rating in both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.
Last but not least, TOP SAFETY PICK winners must be available with good or acceptable headlights. The "plus" designation is given to models that have good or acceptable headlights across all trim levels and packages.
Of all manufacturers, Hyundai Motor Group, including the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, has the most 2021 awards — 12 regular TOP SAFETY PICKs and five pluses. Volvo has the most TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards with nine.
Only one automaker, Mitsubishi, has failed to earn a single award so far. The low number of awards for General Motors — one TOP SAFETY PICK and one TOP SAFETY PICK+ — is striking for such a large manufacturer.
This year two minivans, the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, qualify for the TOP SAFETY PICK+ award. A pickup truck, the Ram 1500 crew cab, qualifies for TOP SAFETY PICK and is the only winner from Stellantis, the company created by the recent merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot. A year ago, there were no minivans or pickups in the winner's circle.
To qualify for the highest award, vehicles had to at least have good or acceptable headlights available as an option. The following year, that requirement became part of the base award.
Vehicles don't have to have front crash prevention as standard equipment to qualify for either award, but a voluntary manufacturer commitment is helping on that front. Twenty automakers have signed the pledge to equip at least 95 percent of vehicles they make with vehicle-to-vehicle automatic emergency braking beginning in the 2022-23 production year.
The extensive list of criteria for both awards means many vehicles check all boxes but one. Twelve vehicles are only lacking good or acceptable headlights, while seven don't have pedestrian crash prevention that earns a superior or advanced rating. Only five fall short on crashworthiness. All five lack a good rating in the passenger-side small overlap.
Here's the full list of winners: Small cars -- Honda Insight; Mazda 3 hatchback; Mazda 3 sedan; Subaru Crosstrek.
Hybrid Midsize cars: Honda Accord; Kia K5 built after November 2020; Mazda 6; Nissan Altima; Nissan Maxima built after November 2020; Subaru Legacy; Subaru Outback; Toyota Camry.
Midsize luxury cars: Acura TLX; Lexus ES 350; Lexus IS; Tesla Model 3; Volvo S60; Volvo S60 Recharge; Volvo V60 ;Volvo V60 Recharge.
Large luxury cars: Audi A6; Audi A6 allroad; Audi A7; Genesis G70; Genesis G90.
Small SUVs: Mazda CX-3; Mazda CX-5; Mazda CX-30 built after September 2020; Nissan Rogue; Subaru Forester; Volvo XC40.
Midsize SUVs: Ford Explorer; Hyundai Palisade; Mazda CX-9; Subaru Ascent; Toyota Highlander.
Midsize luxury SUVs: Acura RDX Cadillac XT6; Hyundai Nexo Lexus NX; Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class with optional front crash prevention; Volvo XC60 Volvo XC60; Recharge Volvo XC90; Volvo XC90 Recharge.
Large SUVs: Audi e-tron; Audi e-tron Sportback .
Minivans: Honda Odyssey; Toyota Sienna Page.
Small cars: Honda Civic hatchback excluding Type R performance variant; Honda Civic sedan Hyundai Veloster with optional front crash prevention; Kia Forte with optional front crash prevention; Kia Soul with optional front crash prevention; Nissan Sentra Subaru Crosstrek with optional front crash prevention; Subaru Impreza sedan with optional front crash prevention; Subaru Impreza wagon with optional front crash prevention; Subaru WRX with optional front crash prevention; Toyota Corolla hatchback; Toyota Corolla sedan.
Midsize car: Hyundai Sonata Midsize luxury cars; Audi A4; Audi A5 Sportback; BMW 3 series ; Mercedes-Benz C-Class with optional front crash prevention.
Large car: Kia Stinger with optional front crash prevention.
Small SUVs: Chevrolet Equinox; Ford Escape; Honda CR-V; Hyundai Kona with optional front crash prevention; Hyundai Tucson with optional front crash prevention; Hyundai Venue Kia Seltos built after August 2020; with optional front crash prevention Kia Sportage with optional front crash prevention Lexus UX Lincoln Corsair; Toyota C-HR; Toyota RAV4; Toyota RAV4 Prime; Toyota Venza.
Midsize SUVs: Ford Edge; Kia Sorento; Kia Telluride; Volkswagen Tiguan.
Midsize luxury SUVs: Lexus RX; Lincoln Aviator; Mercedes-Benz GLC with optional front crash prevention.
Large SUV: Audi Q8.
Large pickup: Ram 1500 crew cab with optional front crash prevention.
