The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has named its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ award winners for the 2021 models.
Forty-nine models took home the highest level of safety — Top Safety Pick+ —and 41 vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick award, bringing the total for 2021 to 90 vehicles, compared to just 64 vehicles in 2020.
“With these awards, we want to make it easy for consumers to find vehicles that provide good protection in crashes, sufficient lighting and effective front crash protection,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “Manufacturers have stepped up to meet the challenge, and the list of great options has grown to an impressive size this year.”
Both awards require good ratings in six crashworthiness tests — driver- and passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. The winners must earn a superior or advanced rating in both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. The “plus” designation is given to models that have good or acceptable headlights across all trim levels and packages.
Of all the manufacturers, Hyundai Motor Group — which includes Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands — has the most 2021 awards with 12 regular Top Safety Picks and five Top Safety Pick+ awards. Volvo has the most Top Safety Pick+ awards with nine. A surprise was that General Motors only received one Top Safety Pick and one Top Safety Pick+ award. Mitsubishi failed to earn a single award.
The following vehicles are made in the Southern Automotive Alliance (SAA) readership area — Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas — and have won the Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2021: Nissan Altima and Nissan Maxima won in the midsize car category; Lexus ES 350, Volvo S60 and Volvo S60 Recharge won in the midsize luxury car category; Nissan Rogue won in the small SUV category; Cadillac XT6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class won in the midsize luxury SUV category; and the Honda Odyssey won in the minivan category.
The following vehicles, also made in the SAA readership area, won the Top Safety Pick awards for 2021: Hyundai Sonata in the midsize car category; Hyundai Tucson and the Lincoln Corsair in the small SUV category; and Kia Sorento and Kia Telluride in the midsize SUV category.
