Safety
Safest Cars by Segment — 2025 IIHS Top Safety Pick+
Ranked from the IIHS 2025 Top Safety Pick / Top Safety Pick+ Awards (2025). CarOutlay adds the ownership-cost lens — what each result means for the real 5-year cost of owning the car.
The ranking
Segment-leading 2025 Top Safety Pick+ winners. Of 36 total Pick+ awards, SUVs took 28. Confirm trim and build month on iihs.org.
- Honda Civic hatchback Small-car leader Small car. Top Safety Pick+
- Mazda 3 (sedan & hatchback) Small car. Top Safety Pick+
- Honda Accord Midsize car. Top Safety Pick+
- Toyota Camry Midsize car. Top Safety Pick+
- Hyundai Ioniq 6 Midsize car (EV). Top Safety Pick+
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class Midsize luxury car. Top Safety Pick+
- Hyundai Tucson Small SUV. Top Safety Pick+
- Mazda CX-30 Small SUV. Top Safety Pick+
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 Small SUV (EV). Top Safety Pick+
- Honda HR-V Small SUV. Top Safety Pick+
- Kia Telluride Midsize SUV (3-row). Top Safety Pick+
- Mazda CX-90 / CX-90 PHEV Midsize SUV (3-row). Top Safety Pick+
- Nissan Pathfinder Midsize SUV (3-row). Top Safety Pick+
- Kia EV9 Midsize SUV (3-row EV). Top Safety Pick+
- Hyundai Santa Fe Midsize SUV; built after Nov. 2024. Top Safety Pick+
- BMW X5 Midsize luxury SUV. Top Safety Pick+
- Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Midsize luxury SUV. Top Safety Pick+
- Genesis GV80 Midsize luxury SUV. Top Safety Pick+
- Audi Q7 Large SUV (3-row). Top Safety Pick+
- Infiniti QX80 Large SUV (3-row). Top Safety Pick+
- Rivian R1S Large SUV (EV); built after Aug. 2024. Top Safety Pick+
- Toyota Tundra crew cab Only pickup Only pickup to earn Pick+ for 2025. Top Safety Pick+
Top Safety Pick+ awards by segment (2025)
How the 36 Top Safety Pick+ awards split across segments — SUVs took 28 of 36.
- Midsize SUVs Most winners 9 awards
- Small SUVs 8 awards
- Midsize luxury SUVs 8 awards
- Large SUVs 3 awards
- Cars (small + midsize + luxury) Small, midsize and midsize-luxury cars combined. 7 awards
- Pickups Toyota Tundra crew cab only. 1 award
- Minivans 0 awards
Why this matters for your cost of ownership
Crash-test ratings flow straight into your insurance bill. Insurers price the risk and cost of claims, and the small overlap, moderate overlap, side, and crash-avoidance tests IIHS uses are designed to predict real-world injury and damage. A segment-leading safety record means fewer and smaller claims, which supports a lower premium and a lower chance of a total loss. Because insurance is one of the three largest ongoing costs of owning a car, picking the safest model in your segment can quietly trim your five-year total. Pair the specific model with a real insurance quote in our TCO calculator to see the effect on your energy, insurance, and depreciation lines combined.
Open the 5-Year TCO calculatorHow this ranking is measured
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, insurance-industry-funded research organization. For 2025 it raised the bar by requiring better protection for second-row occupants. To earn 2025 Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must earn 'good' ratings in the small overlap front, updated moderate overlap front (which now evaluates a rear passenger), and updated side crash tests; an 'acceptable' or 'good' rating in the pedestrian front crash-prevention evaluation; and 'acceptable' or 'good' headlights as standard. The standard Top Safety Pick accepts slightly weaker performance in some categories. Awards are added throughout the year and can depend on build month, so the exact trim and build date must be confirmed on the IIHS website.
Source: IIHS, 2025 Top Safety Pick / Top Safety Pick+ Awards (2025). As of the March 13, 2025 announcement, 48 models qualified for 2025 awards — 36 earned Top Safety Pick+ and 12 earned Top Safety Pick. SUVs accounted for 28 of the 36 Pick+ awards. View the original study ↗
Frequently asked questions
What is the safest car in each segment for 2025?
By the 2025 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, the Honda Civic hatchback and Mazda 3 lead small cars; the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Ioniq 6 lead midsize cars; the Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-30 and Ioniq 5 lead small SUVs; the Kia Telluride, Mazda CX-90 and Nissan Pathfinder lead three-row midsize SUVs; and the Toyota Tundra crew cab was the only pickup to earn Pick+. Only 36 vehicles earned Top Safety Pick+ in total.
Why did SUVs win most of the 2025 Top Safety Pick+ awards?
SUVs make up a large and growing share of new models, so more of them are entered and tested — and many were updated to meet IIHS's tougher 2025 criteria, including stronger second-row protection. As a result, SUVs took 28 of the 36 Top Safety Pick+ awards (eight small, nine midsize, eight midsize luxury and three large), while cars took 7 and pickups just 1.
Is a Top Safety Pick+ in a small car as safe as one in an SUV?
Both passed the same battery of tough crash and crash-avoidance tests for their size, so each is among the safest in its class. But IIHS tests compare vehicles within a size class, not across them — in a collision between vehicles of very different weights, physics still favors the heavier one. A Pick+ small car is an excellent, efficient safety choice; a Pick+ SUV adds mass. Weigh that against the higher fuel and depreciation costs SUVs often carry.
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