Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights.

That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models.

Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights.

We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

• Acura ILX
• Audi A4 Allroad
• Audi A5 (coupe and sportback)
• Audi A6
• Audi Q5
• Audi Q7
• BMW X1
• Buick LaCrosse
• Cadillac XT5
• Chevy Bolt EV
• Chevy Equinox
• Chevy Malibu
• Fiat 500X
• Ford F-150 (extended and quad cabs)
• Ford Fusion
• GMC Acadia
• GMC Terrain
• Honda Civic
• Hyundai Accent
• Hyundai Kona
• Infiniti Q70*
• Infiniti QX60
• Jeep Compass
• Kia Niro PHEV
• Kia Rio
• Lincoln MKX
• Lincoln MKZ
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan
• Mini Countryman
• Nissan Murano
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Nissan Sentra
• Toyota C-HR
• Toyota Tacoma (extended and quad cabs)
• Toyota Yaris iA
• Volkswagen Atlas
• Volkswagen Jetta
• Volkswagen Passat
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Volvo XC90