IIHS Awards ‘Top Safety Pick’ to 48 Vehicles for 2016
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently announced its Top Safety Picks for 2016. While 48 vehicles earned the highest award of Top Safety Pick+, an additional 13 vehicles qualified for Top Safety Pick.
According to IIHS officials, earning these distinctions this year was more difficult, as the IIHS was looking for vehicles to not only meet enhanced safety standards for front crashes but also to provide certain, effective crash prevention technologies. Specifically, vehicles earning the highest IIHS safety awards were those that “have a superior or advanced-rated front crash prevention system with automatic braking capabilities” in addition to meeting the baseline vehicle safety requirements.
Commenting on the stricter requirements for 2016, IIHS President Adrian Lund has explained that:
We asked auto manufacturers to do more this year to qualify for our safety awards, and they delivered… For the first time, a good rating in the challenging small overlap front crash test is a requirement to win, in addition to an available front crash prevention system. How that system rates determines whether a vehicle will earn TOP SAFETY PICK+ or TOP SAFETY PICK.
As vehicles continue to improve, however, we think it’s important to recognize that progress and encourage further advances by making our ratings more stringent. This year’s winners are certainly safer than the vehicles that earned our first TOP SAFETY PICK awards 10 years ago
The following table presents the vehicles awarded Top Safety Pick+ in 2016 by IIHS, classified by vehicle type.
| Type of Vehicle | Make & Model of Vehicles Awarded Top Safety Pick+ Distinction |
| Minicar | Scion iA |
| Small cars | Acura ILX; Lexus CT 200h; Mazda 3 (4-door sedan & 4-door hatchback); Subaru Crosstrek; Subaru Impreza; Subaru WRX; Volkswagen Golf (4-door hatchback & SportWagen models); Volkswagen GTI (4-door models) |
| Midsize, moderately priced cars | Chrysler 200; Honda Accord (4-door sedan); Honda Accord (2-door coupe); Mazda 6; Nissan Maxima; Subaru Legacy; Subaru Outback; Toyota Camry; Toyota Prius v; Volkswagen Jetta; Volkswagen Passat |
| Large family car | Toyota Avalon |
| Midsize luxury or near-luxury cars | Audi A3; BMW 2 series; Lexus ES; Volvo S60; Volvo V60 |
| Small SUVs | Fiat 500X (built after July 2015); Honda CR-V; Hyundai Tucson; Mazda CX-5; Mitsubishi Outlander; Subaru Forester; Toyota RAV4 |
| Midsize SUVs | Honda Pilot; Nissan Murano |
| Midsize luxury SUVs | Acura MDX; Acura RDX; Audi Q5; Lexus NX; Volvo XC60; Volvo XC90 |
| Large luxury cars | Acura RLX; Audi A6 (built after January 2015); Hyundai Genesis; Infiniti Q70 (does not apply to V8 4WD models); Lexus RC; Mercedes-Benz E-Class; Volvo S80 |
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