4 Crossovers With Top Safety Ratings
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 4 min read
With so many
car accidents
annually in the United States, finding safe cars
is certainly an important task—and safety is a factor you'll want to consider when purchasing a vehicle.Each year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) chooses vehicles to put on their Top Safety Picks list. The vehicles must meet certain
safety criteria
, including crash prevention and more. Read on to find out how the Top Safety Pick rating system works, as well as four of the best crossover options that made the cut.
How safe cars get ranked by IIHS
Since their founding in 1959, the IIHS has been a trusted road safety advocate. Each year, they rate many different vehicles for their safety. In 2021, 90 vehicles fell under their Top Safety Pick criteria.
According to the
IIHS
, their Top Safety Pick vehicles must get good ratings in six different tests: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. They must also get an advanced or superior rating for crash prevention in the front of the vehicle, both for pedestrian crashes and crashes into other vehicles. In addition, the Top Safety Pick vehicles must have acceptable or good headlights on at least one of the different model options.
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Four top-rated safe cars in the crossover category
MORE: New York Wants Safety Ratings on SUVs and Trucks to Reduce Pedestrian Deaths
The first crossover, the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, is a vehicle designed especially for off-road ventures.
According to
AutoNXT
, the Bronco Sport quickly became one of the best-selling SUVs in America when it launched. It has 4x4 capability (four-wheel-drive) for better traction on difficult terrain. It is also designed to have plenty of cargo space, making it a great vehicle for camping. In terms of specs, it has a 1.5L EcoBoost engine, which is designed for greater fuel economy. Along with being on the Top Safety Pick list, the IIHS gave the vehicle all superior ratings on front crash prevention in both the vehicle and pedestrian crash subcategories.
With an inline four-cylinder engine and 187 horsepower, the 2022 Hyundai Tucson is another great crossover option. It has plenty of safety features, such as a driver attention warning (DAW), which analyzes the driver for signs of drowsiness that may hamper their ability to drive.
The 2022 Hyundai Tucson also has some limited automation features, such as lane-keeping assist and automatic cruise control. Like the Ford Bronco Sport, the vehicle ranked all superiors on front crash prevention according to the IIHS.
The 2021 Mazda CX-3 is another great crossover option. This is especially the case for safety, with features such as advanced airbags, which are optimized using weight and seatbelt sensors.
The Mazda CX-3 also has some convenient features such as automatic windshield wipers and automatic headlights, both of which are helpful for visibility during certain weather conditions. The crossover's engine is a Skyactiv-G 2L engine and has 149 horsepower.
The 2021 Nissan Rogue is one with universally great safety ratings, including being the only one on this list to earn a good+ rating in one of the child safety subcategories. It has a host of features, including three different displays.
It also has four different parking cameras, making it easy to see vehicles and avoid crashes. The 2021 Nissan Rogue comes with a 2.5L direct injection gasoline engine and 181 horsepower.
All of the crossovers have a Top Safety Pick+ Designation
Along with the Top Safety Pick, the IIHS also chooses vehicles for their Top Safety Pick+ Designation.
This uses the same criteria as the Top Safety Pick, adding in a requirement of having good or acceptable rated headlights available on all versions of a specific model, not just one. This is their highest honor. The crossovers mentioned on this list have all earned the Top Safety Pick+ Designation.
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