Founded in 1959, the IIHS, the acronym for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, is an independent, non-profit American organization responsible for road transport safety. The IIHS is also responsible for certifying the safety of vehicles sold and conducts numerous crash tests on all vehicles each year.
The organization then assigns a safety rating to the various models and publishes its list of the safest vehicles every year. The most honorable mention that everyone tries to obtain is the Top Safety Pick+, the second most prestigious being the Top Safety Pick mention.
Far fewer elected officials in 2023
Surprisingly, the number of vehicles having received the two most prestigious certifications is down sharply compared to previous years. According to the IIHS, only 48 models received one of the two mentions, a significant drop from 101 models in 2022.
The organization explains all this because of an increase in the criteria for obtaining side collisions, accident prevention technologies as well as an increase in the standard of front lighting systems. The list of vehicles with Top Safety Pick+ and Top Safety Pick ratings is therefore reduced compared to other years.
“The number of winners is smaller this year because we challenge automakers to build on the safety gains they’ve already made,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “These models stand out both in terms of impact resistance and collision avoidance,” he added.
Of the 48 honored models, 28 were awarded the Top Safety Pick+ rating and 20 received the Top Safety Pick mention.
With nine models in the running, Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus have more vehicles on the list, taking the title from Hyundai last year.
Here is the list of the 28 models that received the Top Safety Pick+ 2023 rating:
Small cars
2023 Acura Integra
Intermediate cars
Subaru Outback 2023
2023 Toyota Camry
Large luxury car
Genesis G90 2023
Small SUVs
2023 Honda CR-V
2023 Honda HR-V
2013 Lexus UX
Subaru Solterra 2023
Midsize SUVs
2023 Hyundai Palisade
2023 Kia Telluride
2023 Nissan Pathfinder
2023 Subaru Ascent
2023 Toyota Highlander
Volkswagen ID.4 2023
Luxury mid-size SUVs
2023 Acura MDX
2023 Acura RDX
2023 Infiniti QX60
2023 Lexus NX
2023 Lexus RX
Tesla Model Y 2023
2023 Volvo XC90
Vans
2023 Honda Odyssey
Toyota Sienna 2023
Vans
Rivian R1T 2023
2023 Toyota Tundra
