Little changes add up to safer vehicles
Group picks 90 models of cars, trucks and SUVs
Sometimes simple changes add up to meaningful improvements.
That’s the case for vehicle safety as the number of cars, trucks and SUVs earning the highest ratings from the nonprofit that assesses vehicle safety more than doubled for the 2021 model year, in large part due to tweaks involving features such as headlights.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named 49 vehicles as Top Safety Pick+ award recipients for 2021 and another 41 for its second tier, Top Safety Pick.
“The good news this year is consumers have a lot to choose from,” insurance institute President David Harkey said. “There should be something to meet your needs.”
The honors, which automakers often trumpet in marketing campaigns, reflect an assessment of crash-test performance, advanced safety features, engineering and design.
But features as ordinary as headlights sometimes are the difference between making the list or not, Harkey said.
In 2020, only 23 vehicles initially qualified for Top Safety Pick+ in large part due to the insurance institute’s decision to require “good” or “acceptable” headlights as standard equipment.
Let there be better headlights
This year, a number of vehicles made significant strides in headlight improvements after years of the insurance institute flagging them for underwhelming performance.
The group has previously criticized automakers for focusing too much on looks and not enough on basic elements such as installing the lights correctly to ensure they’re properly aimed.
“We saw dramatic improvements in automakers who have figured out how to create better-performing headlights, reduce the glare for oncoming drivers and get winning scores in our headlight test,” Harkey said.
Hyundai, Genesis and Kia, which are part of the same Korean manufacturer, had the most vehicles on either insurance institute list with 17.
Volvo had the most insurance institute Top Safety Pick+ vehicles with nine, in large part because “they’ve figured out the headlights,” Harkey said.
While every brand but low-volume Mitsubishi had at least one vehicle earn insurance institute honors, Harkey noted that high-volume automakers like General Motors and Stellantis (the company that now owns the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) should be performing better, especially given their popular pickups and SUVs.
“The fact that these companies produce so many models yet have so few award winners is still disappointing and something we need to continue to work with them on to make improvements,” Harkey said.
The insurance institute criteria didn’t change in 2021 but are expected to evolve further soon.
Harkey said the group plans to increase the speed and mass of side-impact collisions in crash tests from 31 mph to 37 mph as soon as 2023.
“It’s to be more representative of the vehicles that are out there in the fleet these days,” he said.
2021 Insurance Institute for Highway SafetyTop Safety Pick+ recipients
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
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
Volvo XC40
Large SUVs
Audi e-tron
Audi e-tron Sportback
Minivans
Honda Odyssey
Toyota Sienna
2021 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick awards: 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)