The Safest Cars and Crossovers

There’s little argument that today’s cars are safer than ever, with the best of them not only able to safeguard passengers in the event of a crash, but also to help prevent their drivers from getting into collisions in the first place. To that end, a record 48 cars and crossovers from the 2016 model year have earned “Top Safety Pick+” honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in Arlington, Virginia. And at that, the IIHS raised the bar higher this year with stricter requirements for a given model to earn its top-rated designation. Models that receive the insurance industry-supported organization’s highest overall ratings must not only receive top marks in all of its crashworthiness tests - including the stricter “small overlap” frontal test - but also offer sophisticated accident avoidance systems that can automatically apply the brakes in certain situations if the driver isn’t reacting quickly enough. “We asked auto manufacturers to do more this year to qualify for our safety awards, and they delivered,” says IIHS president, Adrian Lund. “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.” All of the 48 models given Top Safety Pick+ designations received “good” ratings in small overlap and moderate overlap frontal crash tests, side-impact crash tests, and roof strength and head restraint evaluations. Automakers have had particular difficulty earning top marks in the small overlap test in recent years; it’s designed to mimic the effects of a collision with a tree or utility pole at 40 mph in more of glancing blow, rather than a full-frontal or offset frontal collision. What’s more, all of the IIHS’s safest choices for 2016 offer either standard or optional auto-braking accident avoidance systems that have received either “advanced” or “superior” grades in the institute’s tests. The most basic systems give the driver audible and visual warnings if front-facing sensors determine the car is closing in on another vehicle or other obstruction in its path too quickly. But the best systems can go a step further by automatically applying the brakes if the driver isn’t reacting quickly enough. To garner an “Advanced” rating a vehicle must include an auto-braking function that enables the car to avoid a crash or reduce speeds by at least 5 mph in either of two tests conducted at 12 and 25 mph. Vehicles earning the top “Superior” rating are able to successfully avoid a crash or substantially reduce a vehicle’s speed in both tests. We’ve culled through the IIHS’s list of Top Safety Pick+ models and compiled the accompanying list of what we consider to be the “safest” of the bunch by virtue of their “Superior” rated crash avoidance systems. Unfortunately, the anti-collision systems cited for TSP+ designated models are optional in most cases, and are typically limited to costly packages where they’re bundled with other features. Worse, they’re usually available only on the one or two costliest trim levels in a given vehicle line, which often makes shopping for what would be one the safest possible vehicles an expensive proposition.