IIHS awards · data updated 2026-09-16

IIHS Top Safety Pick 2026: Every Winner

Every current Top Safety Pick+ and Top Safety Pick winner, ranked by the crash-test results behind the award.

See the TSP+ list

53 of the 198 current vehicles we track hold a 2026 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and 17 hold a Top Safety Pick award. The highest-scoring winner is the 2027 Tesla Model Y at 98.6/100. The award is pass/fail, so the tables below rank winners by their actual test results rather than listing them alphabetically.

Top Safety Pick+ winners, ranked by score

Where two vehicles score the same, the injury measures behind that score break the tie; vehicles matching on both share a rank. The score is 55% primary IIHS tests, 25% selected occupant-protection details, 10% pedestrian front crash prevention, and 10% class context. Missing evidence never counts as passing.

RankVehicleClassRear restraintsStarts atScore
1 2027 Tesla Model Y Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$39,990 98.6
2 2026 Genesis GV80 Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$57,700 98.6
3 2026 Infiniti QX60 Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$51,200 97.3
4 2026 BMW X3 Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$51,300 97.2
5 2026 Genesis GV70 Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$47,985 97.2
6 2026 Genesis Electrified GV70 Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$64,380 97.2
7 2027 Kia TellurideAward applies only to vehicles built after June 2026 Midsize SUVs Good ~$39,190 96.8
7 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 Midsize SUVs Good ~$58,955 96.8
7 2026 Hyundai PalisadeAward applies only to vehicles built after November 2025 Midsize SUVs Good ~$38,935 96.8
7 2026 Kia EV9 Midsize SUVs Good ~$54,900 96.8
11 2026 Honda Passport Midsize SUVs Good ~$44,750 96.8
12 2026 Rivian R1S Large luxury SUVs Good ~$75,900 96.5
12 2026 Volvo EX90 Large luxury SUVs Good ~$78,090 96.5
14 2026 Tesla Cybertruck Large pickups Good ~$69,990 96.5
15 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$63,800 96.1
15 2027 Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$68,300 96.1
17 2026 Audi Q5 Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$52,800 96.0
17 2026 Audi Q5 Sportback Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$55,100 96.0
19 2026 Mazda CX 70 Midsize SUVs Good ~$42,250 95.4
19 2026 Mazda CX 70 PHEV Midsize SUVs Good ~$44,250 95.4
19 2026 Mazda CX 90 Midsize SUVs Good ~$39,300 95.4
19 2026 Mazda CX 90 PHEV Midsize SUVs Good ~$50,695 95.4
23 2026 Kia SorentoAward applies only to vehicles built after September 2025 Midsize SUVs Good ~$32,390 95.4
23 2026 Nissan Murano Midsize SUVs Good ~$41,670 95.4
25 2026 Lexus NX Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$44,175 94.8
26 2026 BMW X5 Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$68,300 94.7
27 2026 Audi A5 Midsize luxury cars Acceptable ~$50,200 94.7
28 2026 Subaru Forester Small SUVs Good ~$29,995 94.3
28 2026 Subaru Outback Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$34,995 94.3
30 2026 Mazda CX 5 Small SUVs Good ~$29,990 94.2
31 2026 Genesis GV60 Small SUVs Good ~$52,525 94.2
32 2026 Audi A6 Large luxury cars Acceptable ~$64,100 93.5
33 2026 Mazda CX 30 Small SUVs Acceptable ~$25,975 93.1
34 2027 BMW X1 Small SUVs Acceptable ~$43,200 93.1
34 2026 Subaru Ascent Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$40,795 93.1
36 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Small SUVs Good ~$35,000 93.0
37 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$34,800 92.3
38 2026 Nissan Sentra Small cars Acceptable ~$22,600 92.2
39 2026 Kia K4 (Sedan) Small cars Good ~$22,290 92.1
40 2026 Hyundai Sonata Midsize cars Acceptable ~$27,450 91.9
41 2027 Honda HR V Small SUVs Acceptable ~$26,200 91.7
41 2026 Mazda CX 50 Small SUVs Acceptable ~$29,900 91.7
43 2026 Hyundai Tucson Small SUVs Acceptable ~$29,450 91.7
43 2026 Kia SportageAward applies only to vehicles built after May 2025 Small SUVs Acceptable ~$28,690 91.7
45 2026 Nissan Pathfinder Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$39,045 91.7
46 2026 Hyundai Kona Small SUVs Acceptable ~$25,500 91.7
47 2027 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron Large cars Good ~$66,700 91.2
48 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Small cars Acceptable ~$33,995 91.0
49 2026 Toyota Camry Midsize cars Acceptable ~$29,100 89.9
50 2026 Mazda 3 (Hatchback) Small cars Acceptable ~$25,650 89.6
50 2026 Mazda 3 (Sedan) Small cars Acceptable ~$24,650 89.6
52 2026 Toyota Prius Small cars Acceptable ~$28,550 89.0
53 2026 Genesis G80Award applies only to vehicles built after June 2025 Large cars Acceptable ~$58,450 87.4

Top Safety Pick winners, ranked by score

Both award tiers require Good in all three crashworthiness tests. These models meet Top Safety Pick criteria but do not meet every additional crash-avoidance requirement for Plus.

RankVehicleClassRear restraintsStarts atScore
1 2026 Lincoln Nautilus Midsize luxury SUVs Good ~$53,995 98.0
2 2026 Ford Mustang Mach E Midsize SUVs Good ~$37,795 95.6
3 2026 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport Midsize SUVs Good ~$38,300 94.3
4 2026 Ford Explorer Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$38,465 94.3
5 2026 Infiniti QX80 Large luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$83,750 94.1
6 2026 Hyundai Elantra Small cars Good ~$22,625 94.1
7 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$49,550 93.6
8 2026 Volvo XC90 Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$62,345 93.6
8 2026 Volvo XC90 Plug-in Hybrid Midsize luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$62,345 93.6
10 2026 Mercedes-Benz C Class Midsize luxury cars Good ~$49,650 93.3
11 2026 Toyota Tundra (Crew cab) Large pickups Good ~$41,260 92.6
12 2026 Nissan Armada Large SUVs Acceptable ~$58,840 92.4
13 2026 Volkswagen Atlas Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$39,310 91.8
14 2026 Audi Q7 Large luxury SUVs Acceptable ~$60,500 91.5
15 2026 Honda Accord Midsize cars Good ~$28,395 91.2
16 2027 Buick Enclave Midsize SUVs Acceptable ~$46,400 90.6
17 2026 Honda Civic (Hatchback) Small cars Acceptable ~$27,895 89.1

Rear restraints is the IIHS rear-passenger restraints and dummy-kinematics result from the updated moderate-overlap test. Prices are approximate base MSRPs excluding destination, last checked 2026-09. A vehicle with an award but an incomplete set of published tests is shown with the score available so far and is ranked only against other winners here.

Winners by class

Awards are compared within a class, so this is the fastest way to see which winners compete with each other.

Large SUVs (1)

Large cars (2)

Large luxury SUVs (4)

Large luxury cars (1)

Large pickups (2)

Midsize SUVs (20)

Midsize cars (3)

Midsize luxury SUVs (16)

Midsize luxury cars (2)

Small SUVs (11)

Small cars (8)

What the award requires, and why it is shown but not weighted

Both 2026 awards require Good in small overlap front, updated moderate overlap front and updated side, plus Acceptable or Good headlights across trims. Top Safety Pick requires Acceptable or Good pedestrian prevention. Top Safety Pick+ requires Good pedestrian prevention and Acceptable or Good vehicle-to-vehicle prevention 2.0. Standard and any optional prevention systems must meet the relevant thresholds; build-date restrictions still apply.

Those same tests already make up 80% of our score (55% primary tests plus 25% occupant-protection details), so scoring the award on top would double-count the same evidence. Instead, the one award input the tests do not cover, the pedestrian front crash prevention result, is scored directly at 10%, and the remaining 10% is class context. Award status is displayed on every page for reference. The full method is on the methodology page, and the test changes behind the 2026 criteria are explained in our guide to the updated IIHS tests.

Awards are copied from IIHS as published. IIHS can add or withdraw awards during the model year; the list above reflects IIHS data as of 2026-09-16.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+?

Both 2026 awards require Good in small overlap front, updated moderate overlap front and updated side, plus Acceptable or Good headlights across trims. Top Safety Pick requires Acceptable or Good pedestrian prevention. Top Safety Pick+ requires Good pedestrian prevention and Acceptable or Good vehicle-to-vehicle prevention 2.0. Standard and any optional prevention systems must meet the relevant thresholds; build-date restrictions still apply.

How many vehicles won an IIHS award in 2026?

Among the 198 current vehicles in our database, 53 hold a Top Safety Pick+ award and 17 hold a Top Safety Pick award, for 70 award winners in total as of 2026-09-16.

Which brand has the most IIHS Top Safety Pick winners in 2026?

Mazda has the most winners in our current list with 9 award-winning models (Top Safety Pick+ and Top Safety Pick combined).

Is a Top Safety Pick+ award enough to choose a car?

It is a strong filter but not the final answer. The award is pass/fail, so two TSP+ winners can differ by a wide margin in their underlying crash results. Our score does not weight the award itself; it scores the individual test results (80%) and the pedestrian front crash prevention result (10%) directly, so the ranking on this page shows which winners performed best rather than treating them as equal.

Keep comparing

Safest cars of 2026Main ranking New car safety ratingsNew cars The updated IIHS testsExplainer Safest SUVsBy type Safest car brandsBy brand How NHTSA testing differsOther ratings