With stricter new safety requirements in place for cars in 2018 – including more stringent headlight testing – the IIHS has announced the 15 winners of its coveted "Top Safety Pick Plus" award for 2018. Only 12 cars and three SUVs were awarded the honor in the organization's first round of ratings, with another 47 vehicles receiving "Top Safety Pick" honors as well.
Of the 15 vehicles selected for Top Safety Pick Plus, Subaru tops the list with four different winners. Kia, Hyundai, Genesis, and Mercedes-Benz come in strong with two Top Safety Pick Plus selections each, while Toyota, BMW, and Lincoln come in with one. For what it's worth, Lincoln is the only American manufacturer on the list.
The entire 15 Top Safety Pick Plus selections read, as follows:
- BMW 5 Series
- Genesis G80
- Genesis G90
- Hyundai Santa Fe
- Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- Kia Forte Sedan
- Kia Soul
- Lincoln Continental
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan
- Mercedes-Benz GLC
- Subaru Impreza
- Subaru Legacy
- Subaru Outback
- Subaru WRX
- Toyota Camry
Alongside the 15 selected for Top Safety Pick Plus, another 47 were selected for a Top Safety Pick award, including compact sedans like the Mazda3 and the Hyundai Elantra, luxury sedans like the Alfa Romeo Guilia, the Audi A4, and the BMW 3 Series, and crossovers like the Honda CR-V, and Mazda CX-5. Only three trucks and minivans were selected, including the Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, and Honda Ridgeline. The entire list of vehicles can be seen at the link.
"Drivers expect that their passengers, who are often family, will be protected just as well as they are." said IIHS Presdient Adrian Lund. "Manufacturers have been taking this issue seriously since we first shed light on it, and we're confident that good small overlap protection will become the norm on the passenger side, just as it has on the driver side."
The IIHS admits that the list will continue growing throughout the year, and that the 15 Top Safety Pick Plus selections could grow as more cars are introduced.
