Safety First: The Safest SUVs for 2023

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) made changes to its safety rating criteria for 2023 model-year vehicles. 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 the updated driver- and passenger-side small overlap front tests, the original moderate overlap front test, and the updated side test. Additionally, headlights must earn a Good or Acceptable rating and either a Superior or Advanced rating for both the daytime and the new nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention tests.

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 feature additional active safety tech.

With the stricter criteria, only 28 vehicles earned a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS. Here is a look at the 17 crossovers and SUVs that earned the highest marks. Many were also given five-star crash-test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Remember, active safety tech is designed to enhance driver safety awareness—not replace it.

The Acura MDX comes standard with the brand's suite of active safety tech, dubbed AcuraWatch. AcuraWatch includes forward-collision warning with automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, pedestrian detection, and traffic sign recognition. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic monitoring are also standard. The three-row crossover earns a Top Safety Pick+ rating from IIHS, netting a Good rating in all the crash tests and Superior and Advanced ratings for crash avoidance and mitigation.

Though front-drive models earn a five-star rating from NHTSA, all-wheel-drive models haven’t been tested in NHTSA’s rollover test.

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The compact Acura RDX earns a five-star rating from NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ rating from IIHS. The RDX receives Good ratings in every crash test, as well as Superior and Advanced ratings for crash avoidance and mitigation. These high marks come courtesy of the SUV's standard AcuraWatch suite of active safety tech.

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With a Good rating in every crash test, and Superior and Advanced ratings for crash avoidance and mitigation, the 2023 Honda CR-V earns a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS. All CR-Vs come standard with forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, and traffic sign recognition.

The Ford Explorer was the fifth-best-selling SUV in the U.S. in 2020. America loves this Chicago-built three-row, and this new generation Explorer has more safety features than ever. Every Explorer has forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic alert, as well as standard lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist. Ford calls this bundle of drivers-assistant features Ford Co-Pilot360. The Explorer earned a five-star rating from NHTSA, and a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS. Headlights across all five trim levels received an Acceptable rating.

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Hydrogen might be the most abundant element in the universe and what powers the the 161-hp electric motor in the Hyundai Nexo, but its not likely you've seen many of these fuel-cell vehicles at your local watering hole. It's only sold in California, but the base Nexo Blue has an estimated range of 380 miles. Hyundai will give three years or $13,000 worth of complimentary hydrogen fuel to anyone who buys or leases one. On top of that, the Nexo has a bunch of standard safety features. Adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and forward collision avoidance with pedestrian detection are on every Nexo. NHTSA hasn't rated the Nexo yet, but the model received Good ratings for all six crash tests, and Superior and Advanced ratings for front crash prevention by IIHS.

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If you're in the market for an eight-passenger three-row SUV that starts at under $34,000, the Kia Telluride is a good choice, but its cousin, the Hyundai Palisade, has higher safety ratings. The difference is in the headlights. The Palisade received a Good rating for its standard LED Projector high- and low-beam headlights, where the lower trim Telluride's halogen projectors were given a Poor rating. The nearly identical vehicles were given the same ratings in all six crash tests. Both received a five-star rating from NHTSA. The Palisade has important driver-assist features like automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, and adaptable cruise control on every model.

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A new Lexus NX is in the works for this year, but for now, the current NX comes with a slew of standard safety features. Every NX comes with automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control. Not only did the NX receive a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, it's also been given a five-star rating from NHTSA. Across all six IIHS crash tests, the NX returned Good ratings. A Superior rating was awarded for both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention systems, and the NX avoided impact with the crossing child and crossing adult dummies in those four tests.

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The smallest SUV in Mazda's lineup is also one of the safest subcompact crossovers in America. The CX-3 earned a five-star rating from NHTSA, as well as Good and Superior ratings from IIHS. Front and side-curtain airbags kept the crash dummy's head from coming close to the steering wheel, roof, and other hard structures. Standard safety features found on every CX-3 include lane-departure warning, active cruise control, automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and rear cross-traffic alert.

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Spoiler alert: Mazda's entire SUV lineup is on this list. In fact the only Mazda that isn't a Top Safety Pick+ is the MX-5 Miata. The CX-30 is a taller, crossover version of the Mazda 3 compact car, and has an optional 250-hp turbocharged four-cylinder. Not only did the CX-30 receive a five-star rating from NHTSA, it also earned a Good rating for all six of the IIHS crash tests, with Superior marks for its front crash prevention systems. The only area of concern was for CX-30 Premiums built before October 2020. Those models received a poor headlight rating because of too much glare from their low beams. Every CX-30 has lane-keeping assist with lane-departure warning, active cruise control, and they'll alert the driver when the system detects fatigued driving behavior. We've ranked the CX-30 first among 19 subcompact crossovers and SUVs.

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We put 40,000 miles on our long-term Mazda CX-5 in under two years—40,000 trouble-free miles, we might add. The CX-5 is rated Good across all crash tests, with a Superior rating in vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, and an Advanced rating for vehicle-to-pedestrian mitigation. NHTSA gave it a five-star rating as well. Standard safety tech includes automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control. The bigger 10.3-inch infotainment touchscreen added for 2021 should help too, especially for Signature models with an improved 360-degree camera and rear automated emergency braking.

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The biggest vehicle Mazda sells, the three-row Mazda CX-9 has been one of our favorites for a while, and it is partly because of the seven-passenger SUV's luxurious trimmings. The IIHS rated the CX-9 Good on all six crash tests and headlight illumination. It also received a Superior rating for front crash prevention for vehicle-to-vehicle collision mitigation. Its vehicle-to-pedestrian avoidance systems scored an Advanced rating.

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Sure the Mercedes-Benz GLE-class might have the second-highest base price on the list, but it's the only one here designed to bounce its way out of a bad situation. Unfortunately, the air suspension's party trick isn't part of the testing. The GLE-class SUV and Coupe received a five-star rating from NHTSA, and a Top Safety Pick+ from IIHS. Standard features like automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. The safest way to play is to add the optional $1950 Driver Assistant Package Plus, which adds over 10 extra assistant features like adaptive cruise control, active speed-limit assist, and evasive steering assist. Adaptive high-beam assist can also be added as part of the $900 Exterior Lighting package.

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Several SUVs in Nissans lineup received a restyling or debuted a completely new generation model. The Nissan Rogue, Rogue Sport, Armada, Pathfinder, Kicks, hell, even the 16-year old Frontier pickup finally got some attention. Not the Murano. Although it looks like the same ole mid-size SUV, Nissan did make its optional Safety Shield 360 driver's assistance package standard across trims for 2021. That means every Murano now includes automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beams, among others. It was recently added as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ and given a five-star rating from the NHTSA.

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The Subaru Ascent scored max ratings for all six IIHS crash tests, headlight system, and front crash prevention in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests. The IIHS also rated the Ascent's child seat anchors a Good+ rating as they're easy to find and use. Every Ascent now has low- and high-beam LED headlights that respond to the steering, high-beam assist, as well as blind-spot detection with lane change. They also have Subaru's EyeSight technology, with adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist with departure warning.

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The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is an impressive fuel-sipper with an EPA-estimated 90 MPGe combined mileage. This little hybrid goes far, and it's one of the safest subcompact crossovers for sale today. The Crosstrek earned Good and Superior IIHS ratings in every test. With an extra credit given for easy-to-access child-seat anchors. The model is so closely related to the Subaru Impreza sedan and hatchback that both models share the same ratings. We crashed our long-term Subaru Impreza hatchback a crash mitigation comparison test. Of the four cars, the Crosstrek was the only vehicle to avoid a collision using its EyeSight Driver Assist at 45 mph. The Cadillac CT6, Tesla Model S, and Toyota Camry all hit the target at lower speeds. The Crosstrek Hybrid is the most expensive version of the model, and as such includes a bunch of safety features optional in lower trims. Every Crosstrek Hybrid has EyeSight Driver Assist that includes automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and lane-departure warning, as well as high-beam assist, blind-spot detection, cross-traffic alert. The Crosstrek Hybrid will also alert you if a pedestrian is walking near the vehicle if you're traveling under 20 mph.

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The Toyota Highlander seats up to eight passengers (seven on higher trims with second-row captain's chairs), and is available with a 295-hp V-6 or a hybrid powertrain that gets an EPA-estimated 36 mpg combined. The Highlander received a five-star rating from NHTSA, and a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS. During vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention tests, the Toyota Safety Sense detection system prevented collision for 12 mph and 25 mph tests. The Highlander earned a Superior rating for front crash prevention, and Good ratings across all six crash tests. Every Highlander comes with adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and automatic high-beam assist.

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Volvo took its crash safety to new heights when it dropped 10 of its cars from 100 feet in the air. We hope you never find yourself in such a situation, but the whole point was to highlight how safe their lineup is. The Volvo XC40 is not only an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, it's also been given a five-star rating from NHTSA. The net of safety features included on every XC40 include automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection and lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist. Adaptive cruise control with Volvo's semi-autonomous driving mode is also available.

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The XC60 and the XC60 Recharge plug-in hybrid are compact luxury crossovers with the likes of the Porsche Macan, the BMW X3, and the Mercedes-Benz GLC-class. The XC60 was given a five-star rating by the NHTSA, and awarded a Top Safety Pick+ by the IIHS for scoring Good in all six of its crash tests. Its front-crash mitigation systems scored a Superior rating against vehicles, and an Advanced rating when avoiding pedestrians. Every XC60 uses the same LED reflector high- and low-beam headlights, which the XC60 scored an Acceptable rating for, after the IIHS noted low-beam glare, but adequate in all other areas. Standard safety features for X60 include automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control with semi-autonomous driving mode.

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Like the rest of the Volvo lineup, the XC90 offers a copious standard safety features, a few of which are only available on optional packages elsewhere. The biggest standard features are forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, and active cruise control. The XC90 scored Good ratings in all six IIHS crash tests, with Superior and Advanced ratings in front crash mitigation. A five-star rating from NHTSA was also awarded.

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