The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has revealed 57 models have met its tougher criteria to earn a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award for 2019.
According to the organization, all of the models earn good ratings in the Institute’s five primary crashworthiness tests and have an available automatic emergency braking system that rates either advanced or superior.
For 2019, the IIHS tightened the standards for winning an award and models had to have an acceptable or good rating in the passenger-side crash test to quality for a Top Safety Pick award. To earn the honor of being a Top Safety Pick+, the models also had to have a good rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test.
30 models won the top award and the IIHS says all of them have available headlights with a good rating. The 27 Top Safety Pick models, on the other hand, have headlights with at least an acceptable rating.
While nearly 60 different models took home an award, the IIHS notes a majority of the winners only qualify when equipped with optional headlights and a front crash prevention system. As they noted, these safety features rarely come standard on base models. However, the situation is improving as 31 of this year’s winners have a standard front crash prevention system and 20 automakers have announced plans to make automatic braking systems standard on a majority of their vehicles by 2022.
The winners include a pretty diverse group of vehicles, but there are some notable exceptions. All trucks and microcars failed to win a Top Safety Pick award, while minicars and minivans couldn’t meet the standards to win a Top Safety Pick+ award.
Without further ado, let’s jump into the results. Subaru was the top winner as they walked away with seven Top Safety Pick+ awards and Top Safety Pick award for the Forester. Kia picked up five Top Safety Pick+ awards and a Top Safety Pick award for the Soul.
While there’s only a handful of luxury models on the list, the entire Genesis lineup won awards as the G70, G80 and G90 were Top Safety Pick+ winners. It’s also worth noting the only vehicle from American automakers to make the list was the Chrysler Pacifica which won a Top Safety Pick award.