IIHS top safety picks dwindle under new criteria

Only 15 vehicles qualify for the Top Safety Pick Plus award after the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety expanded its criteria to include improved headlight ratings and passenger-side protection for the first time.

Hyundai and Subaru had the most nameplates among the winners.

Safety picks for 2018 require "good" ratings for the additional safety features, where in previous iterations of the study, "acceptable" ratings were permissive. Last year, 38 vehicles qualified for Plus safety status.

The IIHS bestows a Plus safety rating on vehicles whose features include "good" scores in the driver-side small overlap front, side, roof strength tests as well as head restraint tests. Either a "good" or "acceptable" score can be accepted for the same tests for the passenger-side, though an "advanced" or "superior" rating is required for a vehicle to attain peak safety status.

Six Hyundai and four Subaru vehicles attained the highest safety rating the nonprofit organization can bestow, while Mercedes-Benz has two, and Toyota Motor Co., BMW and Ford Motor Co. have one each.

Winners for 2018 include four small cars, three midsize cars, five large luxury cars, two midsize nonluxury SUVs and one midsize luxury SUV.

In addition to the plus candidates, another 47 vehicles earn the Top Safety Pick award. Toyota and Hyundai have the most Top Safety Pick List, with ten and nine vehicles respectively.

Most award winners qualified after adding optional equipment. For instance, auto-braking technology, front crash prevention or good headlights aren't always part of mainstream base trims, the IIHS said.

"The price of the vehicle does go up a bit with additional technology, but not as much as the option price would indicate," IIHS President Adrian Lund told Automotive News. "It's not free, it will cost more to have a safer car, but it's often less than the stereo systems that customers opt for. I think as people become aware of just how effective these systems are, they are becoming more interested in shopping for it."

Subaru customers are increasingly adding safety equipment, the institute found, especially the automaker's optional EyeSight safety package that contains adaptive cruise control, a precollision braking system and lane departure and sway warning.

The package will be standard on the all-new Ascent three-row crossover.

Toyota is an exception, the institute said, having equipped "all but a handful of Toyota and Lexus models with standard autobrake and other advanced features."

The Toyota Camry, Corolla, Prius, Prius Prime and Highlander and the Lexus IS and NX qualified for Top Safety Pick without any added options.

Lund also said he will retire from the institute in January after 11 years at the helm. He will be succeeded by David Harkey, former director of The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.