The Outback earns a TOP SAFETY PICK award. The award applies to all Outbacks built after October, as well as earlier models equipped with the base headlights instead of curve-adaptive ones.

The Legacy earns a TOP SAFETY PICK+ award when equipped with curve-adaptive headlights.

To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating. The TOP SAFETY PICK+ award requires a good passenger-side small overlap rating and a good headlight rating.

Both the Legacy and the Outback earn good ratings in all six of the Institute’s crashworthiness evaluations and come standard with Subaru’s EyeSight crash avoidance system. Each model earns a superior rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, avoiding collisions in 12 and 25 mph track tests. They have also been evaluated for pedestrian crash prevention, earning a superior rating, though that test isn’t part of the 2019 awards criteria.

The 2020 Legacy earns a TOP SAFETY PICK+ award when equipped with curve-adaptive headlights. Its base headlights earn an acceptable rating. That would be sufficient to qualify for an award without the “plus,” though only one of the awards is given per model.

While the 2019 Outback earned the higher-tier “plus” award, the 2020 model is limited to a TOP SAFETY PICK due to an acceptable headlight rating. That rating applies to its base headlights as well as its available curve-adaptive LEDs on models built after October 2019. The curve-adaptive lights on earlier models rate marginal.

Additionally, the 2020 Subaru Impreza sedan and wagon were not redesigned for 2020 but have updated headlights. The new headlights earn identical ratings to the 2019 models, meaning the vehicles’ 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards now extend to 2019-20 models equipped with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights.

The RX, a midsize luxury SUV, was evaluated for the first time in the passenger-side small overlap crash test, earning a good rating. That rating applies only to the 2020 model, when reinforcements were incorporated into the bumper and front-end structure to improve occupant protection in passenger-side small overlap crashes. The RX also scores top marks in five other crashworthiness evaluations.

To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.

The RX earns a superior rating for its vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system. The standard system avoided a collision in IIHS track tests at 12 and 25 mph.

The RX nearly earns the higher-tier TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, but it falls short because that award requires a good headlight rating. The SUV earns acceptable ratings for its base headlights and one of its premium headlight options, both of which are static LED projectors. Its optional curve-adaptive LED projectors earn a poor rating because they create too much glare.

This marks the fourth 2019 safety award for the Lexus brand. The 2019-20 ES, 2019 UX and 2019 NX each qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards.

To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.

The Edge, a midsize SUV, last qualified for an IIHS safety award under the 2015 criteria. Criteria for TOP SAFETY PICK awards change each year, and the Edge has been held back in recent years partly by an acceptable rating in the driver-side small overlap crash test.

Beginning with the 2019 model year, the Edge was modified using the same body and bumper structure as the Lincoln Nautilus. It now earns a good rating in both the driver-side and passenger-side small overlap crash tests. The Edge also earns good ratings in the Institute’s four other crashworthiness evaluations.

The 2019 model also demonstrates improvements in headlight performance. Its available curve-adaptive LED projector headlights earn an acceptable rating for models built after March. The same headlights on models built earlier earn a poor rating, largely due to excessive glare. The Edge’s base headlights — static LED projectors — rate poor, regardless of build date.

The Edge comes with a standard front crash prevention system that rates superior for its ability to react to an imminent crash with another vehicle. In track tests, the system avoided collisions in both 12 and 25 mph tests. The SUV is also available with an optional system that also rates superior.

The Edge has not yet been rated for pedestrian crash prevention.

While the Edge earns the year’s first safety award for the Ford brand, Ford Motor Company’s luxury brand, Lincoln, previously earned a TOP SAFETY PICK+ award for the 2019 Continental.

The Arteon, which was introduced for the 2019 model year, earns good crashworthiness ratings in six Institute evaluations. These include the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests.

The large car comes standard with a superior-rated front crash prevention system. It avoided collisions in 12 and 25 mph track tests and has a forward collision warning component that meets the criteria set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

All three of the Arteon’s available headlight options rate poor. Its base headlights — static LED projectors — earn the rating largely because of deficiencies in visibility. Its other two systems — curve adaptive LED projectors with and without high-beam assist — rate poor due to excessive glare. Headlights are evaluated for both visibility and glare because glare can reduce visibility for other road users.

An acceptable headlight rating would have given the Arteon a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, and a good headlight rating would have given it the higher-tier TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.

The Arteon earns an acceptable rating for ease of use of its Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) hardware, which is a system of attachment hardware for child restraints.

To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating. The TOP SAFETY PICK+ award requires a good passenger-side small overlap rating and a good headlight rating.

Both vehicles earn good ratings in all six of the Institute’s crashworthiness evaluations.

The A7 and Q3 are both equipped with a standard front crash prevention system that rates superior. Both vehicles performed well in IIHS track tests, avoiding crashes in 12 and 25 mph tests.

The A7 must settle for the regular TOP SAFETY PICK award because its best available headlights rate acceptable. That rating applies to the LED projector headlights that come with the Premium Plus trim. The A7’s base headlights — LED reflectors — rate marginal, while the LED projectors that come on the A7’s highest trim, the Prestige trim, rate poor due to excessive glare. High-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles, is included with all but the base headlights.

The Q3 earns a good headlight rating for its available LED projectors, allowing the SUV to qualify for the top-tier “plus” award. Q3s equipped with the base headlights — LED reflectors — don’t qualify for the award, however, because those headlights rate poor. High-beam assist is standard on the Q3.

The 2019 Passport, which is derived from the larger Honda Pilot, earns good ratings in five crashworthiness evaluations and an acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front crash test.

The SUV comes standard with a superior-rated front crash prevention system. In IIHS track tests, the system avoided a collision in the 12 mph test and reduced its impact speed by an average of 12 mph in the 25 mph test. It has a forward collision warning component that meets the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s criteria.

The Passport’s two available headlight systems both earn acceptable ratings for models built after June 2019. Both rate poor for Passports built earlier, meaning earlier models don’t qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK. High-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles, is a standard feature with all headlights.

To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.

The Passport joins seven other 2019 models from Honda in the winner’s circle. Six earn TOP SAFETY PICK awards, and one — the 2019 Insight — earns the higher-tier TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.

Now, in new tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Model 3 has been named a 2019 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ vehicle, the highest achievement awarded by the Institute. To evaluate whether Model 3 met the criteria for this top rating, IIHS tested the car’s crashworthiness, occupant protection, crash avoidance, and headlight systems. Model 3 earned top marks in all eight tests, including a superior rating in front crash prevention, which evaluates a car’s Automatic Emergency Braking system, and the highest possible rating in IIHS’ headlight assessment.

To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, a vehicle has to earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It must also earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and be equipped with good headlights.

The 2020 Palisade, which is built on the same platform as the Kia Telluride, earns good ratings in the six IIHS crashworthiness tests. The standard front crash prevention system earns a superior rating — with an autobrake system that successfully avoided collisions in both the 12 and 25 mph IIHS track tests.

The vehicle earns a good rating for headlights when equipped with optional LED projectors. However, the base halogen headlights are rated marginal, which means models equipped with the base headlights don’t qualify for the either the TOP SAFETY PICK+ or the lower-tier TOP SAFETY PICK award. Both headlight options include high-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles.

The redesigned 2019 model, based on the Civic sedan earns good ratings in six crashworthiness evaluations and comes standard with a superior-rated front crash prevention system, which avoided collisions in IIHS track tests at 12 and 25 mph. The 2019 Insight earns a good+ rating for LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) ease of use. All three rear seating positions of the Insight offer LATCH with hardware that is easy to locate and use.

Honda Pilot

The Pilot earns good ratings in five crashworthiness evaluations and an acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap crash test. Honda updated the Pilot for 2019, adding a standard superior-rated front crash prevention system, which avoided a collision in the 12-mph IIHS track tests and reduced the impact speed in the 25-mph test.

Source: IIHS