IIHS 2019 Top Safety Picks Double From Last Year

The number of cars that made the IIHS Top Safety+ Picks has doubled since last year’s report bringing the 2019 total of honorees to 30. An impressive feat for carmakers considering that testing regulations are even higher than ever. What makes it harder to qualify for a 2019 Top Safety Pick+ is having a “good” rating for a passenger-side small overlap front and, also, a “good” headlight rating. To qualify for the Top Safety Pick, cars must have the above as well as an “acceptable” headlight rating.

Only one American car made the list – the Chrysler Pacifica. It nabbed the same Top Safety Pick as it did in 2018. Japanese and Korean cars dominated the list. Subaru also took home seven awards. A few of the Audi, Mercedes, and BMW made the list for German automakers.

When it comes to electric vehicles, Tesla didn’t give any cars to test. The only electric car to make the list was the Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid.

Here’s the initial list for 2019 IIHS Top Safety Pick+:

Small cars

Honda Insight

Hyundai Elantra (built after September 2018)

Kia Forte

Kia Niro hybrid

Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid

Subaru Crosstrek

Subaru Impreza 4-door sedan

Subaru Impreza wagon

Subaru WRX

Midsize cars

Hyundai Sonata

Kia Optima

Subaru Legacy

Subaru Outback

Toyota Camry

Genesis G70

Lexus ES

Large cars

Toyota Avalon (built after September 2018)

BMW 5 series

Genesis G80

Genesis G90

Mercedes-Benz E-Class 4-door sedan

Small SUVs

Hyundai Kona

Mazda CX-5

Midsize SUVs

Hyundai Santa Fe

Kia Sorento

Subaru Ascent

Acura RDX

BMW X3

Mercedes-Benz GLC

Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class

Here’s the list of the 2019 IIHS Top Safety Picks:

Minicars

Hyundai Accent

Kia Rio 4-door sedan Small cars

Hyundai Elantra GT

Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid

Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid (built after July 2018)

Kia Soul

Nissan Kicks

Toyota Corolla 4-door hatchback

Midsize cars

Honda Accord

Nissan Altima

Audi A3

Audi A4

Mercedes-Benz C-Class 4-door sedan

Large cars

Kia Cadenza

Small SUVs

BMW X2

Honda CR-V

Hyundai Tucson

Mazda CX-3

Mitsubishi Outlander

Subaru Forester

Midsize SUVs

Honda Pilot

Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Mazda CX-9

Nissan Pathfinder (built after August 2018)

Toyota Highlander

Minivans

Chrysler Pacifica

Honda Odyssey