Safest cars of 2024: SUVs, minivans, electric cars and pickup trucks

Safety is a massive focus in the automotive industry today, but the world and technologies are progressing so fast that it’s difficult for standards and regulations to keep up in order for buyers to know which vehicles are the safest cars. Crash-testing organizations like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have to constantly update their methods to account for changes like heavier EVs and higher-speed collisions. With increasingly strict standards, the world ends up with increasingly safe cars.

Getting to today's safest cars has been a bumpy ride. Innovations like the three-point seatbelt didn’t come around until the 1950s, and the first state seatbelt law took effect in 1984 in New York. Since then, the auto industry has increased its focus on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and other technologies that have significantly improved road safety. Today, new cars are required to have airbags, electronic stability control, a backup camera, and more. The safest cars of 2024 include features like automatic emergency braking, forward collision warnings, and blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts.

The IIHS’ testing regimen has grown stricter in recent years as the organization looks to account for heavy EVs, which can generate greater impact forces than their gas counterparts. There has been an increased focus on rear-passenger safety, with the IIHS adding new scoring criteria to account for passengers behind the front seats. Its side-crash tests use more impact force to simulate crashes with heavier, faster vehicles, and the organization is an important voice on new tech like partially automated vehicles.

What makes a car safe? Here's the IIHS Top Safety Pick criteria
The IIHS issues two superlative awards for safety each year, the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick +. In order to earn a Top Safety Pick Award, a vehicle must receive:

• Good ratings in the small overlap front test
• Good rating in the original moderate overlap front test
• Good rating in the updated side test
• Acceptable or good ratings for the standard headlights
• Acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test

The Top Safety Pick + award requires that a vehicle earn:

• Good ratings in the small overlap test
• Acceptable or good score in the updated moderate overlap front test
• Good rating in the updated side test
• Acceptable or good ratings for the standard headlights
• Acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test

The organization’s updated testing criteria have knocked some previously qualified vehicles off the Top Safety Pick list, but there are still several award winners for the 2024 calendar year. It’s important to note that because of automakers’ vehicle release schedule, it’s often possible for a car from one model year to earn an award in a different calendar year. That can sometimes make identifying award winners confusing, but we’ve gathered a list of the IIHS’ top choices for the 2024 calendar year here.

2024 Top Safety Pick + Award Winners

Safest Small Cars

• 2024 Acura Integra
• 2024 Mazda 3 Hatchback and Sedan
• 2024 Toyota Prius

Safest Midsize Cars

• 2024 Honda Accord
• 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6

Safest Large Luxury Cars

• 2024 Genesis Electrified G80
• 2024 Genesis G80
• 2024 Genesis G90

Safest Small SUVs

• 2024 Genesis GV60
• 2024 Honda HR-V
• 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5
• 2024 Hyundai Kona
• 2024 Mazda CX-30
• 2024 Mazda CX-50

Safest Midsize SUVs

• 2024 Ford Explorer
• 2025 Honda Pilot
• 2024 Kia Telluride
• 2024 Mazda CX-90 and CX-90 PHEV
• 2024 Nissan Pathfinder
• 2024 Subaru Ascent

Safest Midsize Luxury SUVs

• 2024 Acura MDX
• 2024 BMW X3
• 2024 Genesis GV80
• 2024 Lincoln Nautilus
• 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
• 2024 Tesla Model Y

Safest Large Pickup Trucks

• 2024 Rivian R1T

2024 Top Safety Pick winners:

Small Cars

• 2024 Hyundai Elantra
• 2024 Subaru Impreza
• 2024 Toyota Prius Prime

Midsize Cars

• 2024 Hyundai Sonata
• 2024 Subaru Outback
• 2024 Toyota Camry

Midsize Luxury Cars

• 2024 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Large Cars

• 2024 BMW 5 Series

Small SUVs

• 2024 BMW X1
• 2024 BMW X2
• 2024 Honda CR-V
• 2024 Hyundai Tucson
• 2024 Kia Sportage
• 2024 Lexus UX
• 2024 Lexus RZ
• 2024 Subaru Solterra

Midsize SUVs

• 2024 Honda Pilot
• 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
• 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
• 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L
• 2024 Kia EV9
• 2024 Kia Sorento
• 2025 Mazda CX-70 and CX-70 PHEV
• 2024 Nissan Ariya
• 2024 Toyota Highlander
• 2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport
• 2024 Volkswagen ID.4

Midsize Luxury SUVs

• 2024 Acura RDX
• 2024 Acura Q4 e-tron SUV and Sportback
• 2025 BMW X5
• 2024 Genesis Electrified GV70
• 2024 Genesis GV70
• 2024 Infiniti QX60
• 2024 Lexus NX and NX PHEV
• 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
• 2024 Tesla Model Y
• 2024 Volvo XC90 and XC90 Recharge

Large SUVs

• 2024 Audi Q7
• 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron SUV and Sportback
• 2024 Jeep Wagoneer
• 2024 Rivian R1S

Minivans

• 2024 Honda Odyssey
• 2024 Toyota Sienna

Small Pickups

• 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz
• 2024 Toyota Tacoma

Large Pickups

• Toyota Tundra Crew Cab and Extended Cab