IIHS Recognizes 2025 Top Safety Award Winners for Optimal Protection of Rear-Seat Passengers
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has raised the bar for its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2025, prioritising enhanced rear-seat occupant protection. This shift comes as a response to the need for better safety features for rear-seat passengers, addressing a historical disparity in protection between front and back seats.
In the updated moderate overlap front crash test, a second crash-test dummy is now seated behind the driver to simulate a rear passenger. This change has significantly impacted the qualifying models, with only 48 vehicles meeting the IIHS's rigorous criteria for 2025, a sharp decline from the 71 vehicles that qualified at the same point in 2024.
To earn either award, vehicles must now achieve good ratings in the updated moderate overlap front test with the second rear-seat dummy. The Top Safety Pick+ requires an even higher standard, demanding a good rating in this test.
Small and midsize SUVs continue to lead the way in safety performance across the 2023, 2024, and 2025 model years tested. Some of the winners in their respective categories include the Honda Civic hatchback, Mazda 3 hatchback, Mazda 3 sedan, Honda Accord, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Toyota Camry, Genesis GV60, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-30, Mazda CX-50, Subaru Solterra, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Santa Fe built after November 2024, Kia EV9, Kia Telluride, Mazda CX-70, Mazda CX-70 PHEV, Mazda CX-90, Mazda CX-90 PHEV, Nissan Pathfinder, BMW X5, Genesis Electrified GV70, Genesis GV70 built after April 2024, Genesis GV80, Lincoln Nautilus, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class with optional front crash prevention, Volvo XC90 built before December 2024, Audi Q7, Infiniti QX80, and Rivian R1S built after August 2024.
Of these winners, 36 have earned the prestigious Top Safety Pick+ rating, while 12 have received the standard Top Safety Pick. Notably absent from the list of winners are minivans, minicars, and small pickups. Only the Toyota Tundra crew cab is the only large pickup that has managed to secure an award.
The new criteria encourage automakers to adopt advanced seat belt technologies and other safety innovations specifically for rear passengers across various vehicle types, from cars to SUVs and pickups. Additionally, they must have pedestrian crash prevention systems that perform well in both daytime and nighttime conditions, and all trim levels must feature headlights rated as acceptable or better.
The IIHS continues to stress pedestrian protection, side crash, small overlap front crash, and headlight performance as additional requirements for awards. However, rear-seat occupant protection is now a highlighted new priority. The revised moderate overlap front crash test, now incorporating a second crash-test dummy seated behind the driver, is at the heart of the new requirements.
In summary, for 2025, the IIHS prioritizes enhanced rear-seat occupant protection by requiring automakers to achieve at least acceptable (Top Safety Pick) or good (Top Safety Pick+) ratings in a newly updated moderate overlap front crash test featuring a rear-seat dummy, marking a key advancement in their safety standards.
[1] IIHS (2023). New IIHS crash test better represents real-world crash scenarios involving rear-seat occupants. Retrieved 25 March 2023, from https://www.iihs.org/news/pr/new-iihs-crash-test-better-represents-real-world-crash-scenarios-involving-rear-seat-occupants
[2] IIHS (2023). IIHS raises bar for 2025 Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards. Retrieved 25 March 2023, from https://www.iihs.org/news/pr/iihs-raises-bar-for-2025-top-safety-pick-and-top-safety-pick-awards
[3] IIHS (2023). IIHS announces winners of 2025 Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards. Retrieved 25 March 2023, from https://www.iihs.org/news/pr/iihs-announces-winners-of-2025-top-safety-pick-and-top-safety-pick-awards
- To reflect the growing importance of health-and-wellness in vehicles, the updated moderate overlap front crash test by the IIHS now includes a second crash-test dummy seated behind the driver, simulating a rear passenger, aiming to improve the safety of all vehicle occupants.
- In addition to the previous focus on pedestrian protection, side crash, small overlap front crash, and headlight performance, the IIHS has prioritized science by making enhanced rear-seat occupant protection a key component of the 2025 Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards, encouraging automakers to adopt advanced safety technologies for both front and rear passengers.
