The Safest SUVs for 2025 and 2026
These SUVs earn the best crash-test, headlight, and driver-assistance safety ratings from the IIHS while also being rated highly in Car and Driver testing.
Safety is one of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a new vehicle, and the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) acts as the leading authority when it comes to testing and rating vehicles for crashworthiness and crash avoidance system viability. In order for a vehicle to earn a Top Safety Pick+, the organization's highest honor, a vehicle must earn a Good rating in every crash test, including a driver's- and passenger's-side small overlap front test, a moderate overlap front test, and a side impact test. Additionally, headlights must earn a Good or Acceptable rating and either a Good or Acceptable rating in the vehicle-to-pedestrian front-crash prevention test.
Active safety tech required for crash avoidance and mitigation tests includes forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. Many of the Top Safety Pick+ winners also feature additional active safety tech.
With those criteria, 50 crossovers and SUVs received IIHS's highest honors for 2025 and 2026. Many were also given five-star crash-test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). To narrow down this list for shoppers, we've only listed SUVs that have earned a Car and Driver rating of 8.5 or higher, meaning that we would recommend all of the vehicles here as good buys in their respective segments.
Audi Q5 / Q5 Sportback
The Audi Q5 was redesigned for the 2025 model year, earning an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating as a result. The Q5 received a Good rating in all crashworthiness and crash avoidance metrics, with the only exception being an Acceptable rating for its headlights.
Audi Q6 e-tron
Available in standard squareback or sleeker Sportback formats, the electric Audi Q6 e-tron earns an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ thanks to its performance of Good in all IIHS crash tests and crash avoidance and mitigation testing.
Audi Q7
The three-row Audi Q7 performed well in all of the IIHS's crashworthiness tests, but fell short in crash avoidance and mitigation. Its weak point include its frontal crash prevention system and its headlights, with the Q7 receiving a Poor score for frontal crash prevention and an Acceptable score for its headlights. Those two metrics aside, the Q7 manages top marks in just about every other IIHS test and still earns a Top Safety Pick+ rating.
BMW X3
The BMW X3 luxury compact SUV is not only the Bavarian brand's bestseller, but one of its top models in terms of safety ratings. The X3 earned Good ratings in all of IIHS's crash worthiness tests, but received only Acceptable and Poor ratings for its headlights. It also got only a Marginal score for its seat belt reminders. Nonetheless, the X3 met the criteria to be granted a Top Safety Pick+ award.
BMW X5
Like its smaller X3 sibling, the mid-size BMW X5 earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award for 2025. The X5 earned Good scores for nearly every crashworthiness and crash avoidance metric, but it received an Acceptable score for its headlights.
Ford Mustang Mach-E
The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a punchy and practical electric compact SUV that is also safe, according to the IIHS. It earned Good scores in every crashworthiness and crash avoidance test, with the only blemish on its perfect record being an Acceptable score for its seat belt ease of use.
Genesis GV60
The Genesis GV60 stands out thanks to its quirky design, choice of two exhilarating electric powertrains, and spirited handling. This electric SUV has quickly made a big impression among a growing lineup of zero-emission rivals. The GV60 has scored back-to-back IIHS Top Safety Pick+ awards thanks to its rating of Good in every crash and crash-avoidance test conducted by the IIHS.
Genesis GV70
The Genesis GV70 passed all IIHS crash tests with flying colors—meaning it nabbed the safety organization's top mark of Good. In both day and night testing of the GV70's vehicle-to-pedestrian front accident avoidance it registered an Acceptable score, one below a best of Good.
Genesis Electrified GV70
Elegant and electric, the electrified GV70 is an upscale showpiece from Genesis with plenty of curb appeal. In addition to being a stylish and practical EV SUV, the Electrified GV70 bolsters its status as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award recipient. It received top marks in nearly all crashworthiness and crash avoidance tests with the exception of its frontal crash prevention system, which earned an Acceptable score.
Genesis GV80
The Genesis GV80 earns a Top Safety Pick+ accolade from the IIHS courtesy of its near-flawless performance in every crash test and accident avoidance and mitigation test.
Honda Passport
The Honda Passport is redesigned for the 2026 model year and now looks more rugged than ever. It is also safer than ever, as the Passport passed every single test that the IIHS threw at it with top marks. With Good ratings in every crashworthiness and crash avoidance metric, the Passport earned its status as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award winner.
Hyundai Ioniq 9
The Ioniq 9 is Hyundai's new futuristic, minivan-adjacent electric mid-size SUV, and it earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award in its debut year. The Ioniq 9 earned flawless scores for both crashworthiness and crash avoidance, leaving very little room for improvement.
Hyundai Kona
The Kona is a cool-looking, spunky, subcompact SUV that blends practicality and comfort in a right-sized package. It is also a safe little runabout, earning IIHS Top Safety Pick+ honors for the 2025 model year. It received Good scores in all crashworthiness metrics, but only Acceptable scores for its headlights and seat belt ease of use.
Hyundai Santa Fe
The Hyundai Santa Fe is a boldly styled mid-size SUV with luxury-like accommodations and an excellent safety rating. It scored Good in all IIHS crashworthiness tests, with its only faults being Acceptable scores for its headlights and seat belt ease of use.
Hyundai Ioniq 5
Stylish and quiet, the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 receives the IIHS's Top Safety Pick+ status courtesy of a Good rating in all crash tests and scores of Good or Acceptable for how it performs in crash avoidance and mitigation.
Kia EV9
The Kia EV9 blends style with practicality in an electric mid-size SUV package. The EV9 is also one of the safest options in the segment, earning a Good score in all of the crashworthiness and crash test metrics. Standard safety features include blind-spot monitoring, automated emergency braking, and lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist.
Kia Telluride
The Kia Telluride has been one of our favorite mid-size three-row SUVs for some time now, earning a place on our 10Best list every year since it debuted in 2020. In addition to being a well-rounded and capable family hauler, it's one of the safest vehicles of its kind. The Telluride received Top Safety Pick+ honors in 2025, scoring a Good rating in all crashworthiness and crash avoidance metrics.
Mazda CX-30
The Mazda CX-30 is an uncommonly sporty and premium-feeling subcompact SUV that received a Top Safety Pick+ award in 2025. It got Good ratings in every crash safety, accident avoidance, and child restraint test that the IIHS threw at it, making it one of the safest options in its segment.
Mazda CX-50
Like the subcompact CX-30, the one-size-up CX-50 also earned Top Safety Pick+ honors from the IIHS in 2025. While it passed all of its crashworthiness tests with a Good rating, it received only Acceptable ratings for its headlights and vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system.
Mazda CX-90
Mazda's mid-size three-row SUV not only took top honors in a mid-size three-row SUV comparison test in 2024, but it also earned top marks with the IIHS. Credit top marks all around, with the exception of its headlights, which were deemed merely average in most trim levels. That said, the headlights of six-cylinder CX-90 Turbo S Premium and Turbo S Premium Plus models earned the highest rating of "Good."
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