These Are America’s Safest EVs

You’ve probably heard of the IIHS, which stands for Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They’re the folks who keep tabs on America’s safest cars. They break things down by category based on engine size and what kind of vehicle it is – sedan, SUV, crossover, that sort of thing.

They’re an independent organization that crashes cars on purpose to see how well they protect the people inside. And only a handful of vehicles earn their Top Safety Pick+ award. To get it, cars need to ace a bunch of different tests – everything from overlap crashes to side impacts, plus they check headlights, front crash protection, pedestrian collisions, safety belts, and child seat latches.

Here’s How They Test These Cars:

Test	What They Do	Why It Matters
Driver-side small overlap front	Slam just 25% of the front left corner into something at 40 mph	Shows how the car holds up when you hit something head-on at an angle (think hitting a pole or tree)
Passenger-side small overlap front	Same thing, just on the right side	Same deal – gotta protect passengers too
Moderate overlap front	Hit 40% of the front at 40 mph (they even look at back-seat passengers)	This is actually the most common type of front crash
Side crash	A heavy moving barrier smacks into the side at 31 mph	Like getting T-boned at an intersection – ouch
Roof strength	Push down on the roof to see how much it can take before collapsing	Important for rollovers
Head restraints & seats	Check how well seats prevent whiplash in rear-end crashes	Neck injuries happen even in fender benders

The IIHS also tests automatic emergency braking (AEB) two ways:

Car-to-car: How does it handle approaching a stopped or slow-moving car at 12 mph and 25 mph?

Car-to-pedestrian: Day and night scenarios with dummies walking or standing in the road

They test the headlights too, measuring how far the low beams and high beams actually reach and whether they’re blinding oncoming drivers with too much glare.

Testers check how easy, or frustrating, it is to install a child seat using the latch anchors. Because if you’re a parent, you know this matters.

What Do These Awards Actually Mean?

Top Safety Pick+ (the big one):

• Aces all crash tests
• Superior or Advanced crash prevention (works day and night for pedestrians)
• Good or Acceptable headlights on every trim level
• Good or Acceptable latch system

Top Safety Pick: Same standards, but headlights or crash prevention can be one notch lower

Special Considerations for EVs

Since electric cars have those big batteries underneath, the IIHS added some extra tests:

• What happens to the underbody battery area during a crash?
• Does the car catch fire, leak, or create an electrical shock risk?

EVs have to pass these battery-specific tests to earn the Top Safety Pick+ award.

And the Winners Are…

Model	Type	What Makes It Stand Out	Starting Price
Hyundai Ioniq 5	Compact SUV	Nails all crash tests; great at detecting pedestrians	$42,500
Hyundai Ioniq 6	Sedan	Excellent protection in small overlap and side hits; killer headlights	$37,750
Tesla Model Y	Midsize SUV	Fifth year in a row winning TSP+; top scores in the updated moderate overlap test	$46,880
Ford Mustang Mach-E	Midsize SUV	Really protects rear passengers well; solid front crash prevention	$36,495
Kia EV9	Large SUV	Stepped up from 2024; great protection even in the third row	$54,900
Genesis Electrified GV70	Midsize Luxury SUV	Kept its TSP+ status; excellent at avoiding other vehicles	$66,950
Rivian R1S	Large SUV	Solid performance in side and overlap tests; smart adaptive headlights	$75,900
Subaru Solterra	Compact SUV	Third year winning TSP+; acceptable pedestrian crash prevention	$38,495
Audi Q6 e-tron	Midsize Luxury SUV	Brand new for 2025; aced those new battery protection tests	$63,800