The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has raised the bar for its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards, tightening requirements focused on crash avoidance systems and back seat passenger protection.
Even with the tougher criteria, 63 vehicles qualified for an IIHS safety award so far in 2026 — 15 more than received awards in March of last year, the institute announced in a March 24 release.
The updates are meant to encourage automakers to make safety improvements, as dealer surveys have previously suggested that positive safety ratings can help increase sales of certain models.
“This year, we’re asking automakers to make excellent protection for back seat passengers the norm,” IIHS President David Harkey said in a statement. The highest award, Top Safety Pick+, now also requires crash avoidance systems that are more effective at preventing pedestrian crashes and high-speed crashes with other vehicles, Harkey said.
To qualify for either award, vehicles must come standard with qualifying front crash prevention systems. In addition, both Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards require a “good” rating in the crash test simulating an offset head-on collision between two vehicles. IIHS updated this crash test in 2022 to better evaluate back seat passenger safety. Previously, an “acceptable” rating was sufficient for a Top Safety Pick award.
As for the pedestrian front crash prevention test, Top Safety Pick vehicles need an “acceptable” or “good” rating, which was unchanged from last year. But new for 2026, Top Safety Pick+ winners need a “good” rating in that test as well as an “acceptable” or “good” rating in the new vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test that IIHS introduced last year.
“Stronger structures and better seat belts save lives, but the safest crash is the one that never happens,” Harkey said.
SUVs dominated the awards and received 35 of the 45 Top Safety Pick+ awards, as well as 12 of the 18 Top Safety Pick vehicles.
IIHS pointed out that no minicars, minivans or small pickups earned awards, and only two large pickups qualified — the Tesla Cybertruck and Toyota Tundra crew cab.
“It’s disappointing that minivans continue to struggle to provide the best-available protection for passengers in the back, considering that these are supposed to be family vehicles,” Harkey said, adding that families may want to instead consider some of the SUVs or sedans on the IIHS safety pick lists.
Hyundai Motor Group earned the most awards overall, with 16 across its lineup of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brand vehicles.
Meanwhile, Mazda led in individual brands, with eight of its vehicle models named a Top Safety Pick+.
