Special Report

30 Safest Cars in America

Michael B. Sauter

Published: December 21, 2018 6:46 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 1:20 pm

In a report released this week, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety identified the safest cars on the road. IIHS identified 30 2019 model year vehicles as a “Top Safety Pick+.”

Just 11 automakers are behind the 30 models that earned IIHS’s top safety rank. Asian brands like Kia and Hyundai dominate the list, and Japan’s Subaru leads all automakers with seven of the 30 vehicles that earned the highest safety rating. Not one American car makes the list.

No miniature vehicles make the list, but the 30 models range from small to large and include both luxury and mass-market vehicles. This is partially the result of how IIHS awards its “Top Safety Pick+” designation. On its website, IIHS states:

“Size and weight influence occupant protection in serious crashes. Larger, heavier vehicles generally afford more protection than smaller, lighter ones. Thus, a small car that’s a TOP SAFETY PICK+ … doesn’t necessarily afford more protection than a bigger car that doesn’t earn the award.”

IIHS, a nonprofit research organization funded by auto insurers, ranks most major categories of safety tests on a four point scale: “poor,” “marginal,” “acceptable,” and “good.” IIHS identifies a vehicle as a “Top Safety Pick+” if it earns good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, and side crashes, as well as roof strength and head restraint tests. It also must earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention as well as a good headlight rating. Most of these vehicles score nearly perfect across all major and minor crash and crash prevention tests.