IIHS' highest safety picks double even as bar rises again

The number of vehicles receiving the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's initial highest safety honor for 2019 doubled, even as the group raised standards.

IIHS said it now requires a "good" rating in a passenger-side small overlap front test to earn a 2019 Top Safety Pick Plus award. For 2018, an "acceptable" or "good" rating sufficed. An "acceptable" or "good" rating in the passenger-side test are also new criteria to earn a 2019 Top Safety Pick.

Thirty vehicles received the Top Safety Pick Plus award, up from 15 for 2018. Small cars fared well in the latest ratings, with nine earning the highest safety honor. Other top winners for 2019 were five midsize cars, two midsize luxury cars, one large car, four large luxury cars, two small SUVs, three midsize SUVs and four midsize luxury SUVs.

To earn a 2019 Top Safety Pick Plus award, vehicles must be rated "good" in IIHS' passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front crash, side crash, roof strength and head restraint tests. Vehicles also must earn an "advanced" or "superior" rating for front-crash prevention and a "good" headlight rating.

Seven Subaru vehicles are 2019 Top Safety Pick Plus winners: the WRX, Outback, Impreza sedan and wagon, Crosstrek, Legacy and Ascent. Hyundai earned four and Kia earned five Top Safety Pick Plus awards, while Genesis received three awards, including for the Genesis G70, an all-new model for 2019.

Mercedes-Benz and Toyota/Lexus each have three vehicles on the list of Top Safety Pick Plus winners, while Honda and its Acura brand were awarded two picks, and Mazda one.

The 57 vehicles that made the 2019 Top Safety Pick Plus and Top Safety Pick lists can be found here.

Since introducing the Top Safety Pick Plus award with the 2013 model year to recognize vehicles that offer superior safety, IIHS has raised the bar six times.

"We challenged manufacturers to provide the best possible protection in a range of crash scenarios and equip vehicles with an automatic emergency braking system to avoid crashes, as well as offer headlights that give drivers confidence when traveling at night," IIHS President David Harkey said in statement.

The majority of IIHS' latest winners qualified only when optionally equipped because "good" or "acceptable" headlights and an "advanced" or "superior" front-crash prevention system aren't part of base trim packages.

Twenty automakers have pledged to equip virtually all passenger vehicles with automatic braking by 2022, and many are on track to beat a deadline under a voluntary commitment negotiated in 2015 by IIHS and NHTSA.

In addition to the Top Safety Pick Plus winners, another 27 vehicles earned IIHS' Top Safety Pick award. Hyundai and Honda had the most Top Safety Pick winners, with six and four vehicles.

Vehicles will be added to the top picks list throughout 2019 as automakers incorporate safety advances and offer new headlight options.

IIHS said 17 vehicles just missed achieving the top award because their headlights were rated only "acceptable." They include some top-selling cars -- the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Corolla -- as well as the Mitsubishi Outlander. IIHS began rating headlights in 2016 based on research that showed many headlights don't do an adequate job of lighting the road at night and limiting glare for oncoming drivers.

IIHS said the redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 crew cab performed well in crash tests and has an optional, "superior" front-crash prevention system but is only available with headlights that were rated "marginal."

In addition, a few other models -- the Chevy Volt and Buick Envision, for example -- earned awards for 2018 but didn't qualify for 2019 because General Motors didn't nominate them, IIHS said.

In addition to the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands, IIHS said Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands; Ford and its Lincoln brand; and Tesla all failed to qualify for either award because the automakers didn't nominate them.

IIHS also said several older Dodge and Ford models still lack a "good" rating for driver-side protection in a small overlap crash, while Volvo hasn't yet qualified for a 2019 award because of missing passenger-side small overlap front test results.