Safest New Cars of 2024, According to the IIHS

Vehicles must now meet more stringent requirements to earn the safety group’s Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ designations

The Toyota Sienna has lost its IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation for 2024.

By Keith Barry

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety added new requirements for vehicles to earn its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ designations in 2024, including new performance criteria for rear-seat passenger and pedestrian protection. As a result, far fewer vehicles earn the Top Safety Pick+ ranking this year compared with last year, but the cars on this year’s list are safer than ever.

For 2024, 22 vehicles have been awarded Top Safety Pick+, while 49 earned Top Safety Pick. The majority of winners are small and midsized SUVs. Few cars and pickup trucks received the designations this year, which IIHS president David Harkey attributes to the dominance of SUVs on the market today. Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis—which share corporate ownership—have the most awards overall. Toyota and Lexus come in second, and Mazda is third.

This year, in order to earn Top Safety Pick+, vehicles must score Acceptable or Good in an updated moderate front overlap crash test, which adds a dummy in the seat behind the driver to evaluate rear-seat crash protection. The test mimics what happens if a vehicle crosses a center line and 40 percent of its front end hits a similarly sized oncoming car at 40 mph. Vehicles must also score as Good in an updated side crash test introduced in 2021.

The IIHS, which is funded by the insurance industry, has tested automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection since 2019. However, in another change to its award requirements, this is the first year that a vehicle must score Acceptable or Good for its combined performance in both daylight and dark conditions to earn Top Safety Pick status—last year, a car could earn Top Safety Pick on daytime performance alone. According to the IIHS, the change is part of a newfound focus on the safety of all road users—not just those inside the car.

The Honda Accord is a sedan that earns a Top Safety Pick+ rating.

Photo: IIHS

“There’s still progress to be made in the protection that vehicles provide for their occupants, as the introduction of the updated moderate overlap test shows,” Harkey said in a statement. “But many of the biggest gains of the future will come from automakers and policymakers, along with all of us as car buyers and drivers, taking steps to protect everyone on the road, not just our own families.”

As always, vehicles must protect occupants in driver- and passenger-side small-overlap front crash tests. These tests mimic a crash with a tree, a telephone pole, or the front corner of an oncoming car. Vehicles must also have high-performing headlights across trim lines.

The IIHS says it will continue to announce award winners as it completes testing, and that more vehicles will likely be added to both the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ lists as automakers implement changes to improve their performance in the updated moderate overlap crash test.

Adapting these coveted ratings to include tests and technologies that reflect where and how people are killed and injured makes vehicles safer over time, says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “Each iteration means the next step in identifying cars that provide the highest levels of safety, a key element for consumers when choosing a vehicle for themselves and their families,” she says. That’s true for those both in and out of the vehicle.

Rear-seat safety is especially important, says Emily A. Thomas, PhD, auto safety manager at Consumer Reports. But safety advances for front passengers have outpaced those for the back seat. “Consumer Reports has been rewarding manufacturers for including advanced safety technology in the rear seat since 2021, and the IIHS ratings are evaluating the implementation of these safety systems,” she says. “Together, both programs are pushing safety forward for back-seat passengers.”

The Tesla Model Y is among several electric cars that earn a Top Safety Pick+ rating.

Photo: Tesla

2024 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Winners

Small Cars

Acura Integra

Mazda 3 hatchback and sedan

Toyota Prius

Midsized Cars

Honda Accord

Hyundai Ioniq 6

Large Luxury Car

Genesis Electrified G80

Small SUVs

Genesis GV60

Honda HR-V

Hyundai Kona

Mazda CX-30

Mazda CX-50 (built after August 2023)

Midsized SUVs

Ford Explorer

Kia Telluride

Mazda CX-90

Nissan Pathfinder (built after November 2023)

Subaru Ascent

Midsized Luxury SUVs

Acura MDX

BMW X3

Genesis GV80 (built after August 2023)

Mercedes-Benz GLE Class (with optional front crash prevention)

Tesla Model Y

2024 IIHS Top Safety Pick Winners

Small Cars

Hyundai Elantra

Subaru Impreza

Toyota Prius Prime

Midsized Cars

Subaru Outback

Toyota Camry

Large Car

Toyota Crown

Midsized Luxury Cars

BMW 5 Series

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Large Luxury Cars

Genesis G80

Genesis G90

Small SUVs

BMW X1

Honda CR-V

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Hyundai Tucson

Kia Sportage

Lexus UX

Lexus RZ

Subaru Solterra

Midsized SUVs

Honda Pilot

Hyundai Palisade

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep Grand Cherokee L

Mazda CX-90 PHEV

Nissan Ariya

Toyota Highlander

Volkswagen Atlas

Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

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