Honda Accord is the only midsize sedan to ace the latest Insurance Institute crash test

When it comes to passenger safety in the popular midsize car segment, the Honda Accord rules supreme.

In new crash data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), only the Honda Accord earned the highest overall rating of “good” among six midsize sedans when it comes to rear-seat passengers’ safety.

The IIHS said the Subaru Outback was next safest with an “acceptable” rating, followed by the Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry, which were rated as “marginal.” The Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5, and Volkswagen Jetta were all rated “poor.”

“In most of the midsize cars we tested, the rear dummy slid forward, or ‘submarined,’ beneath the lap belt, causing it to ride up from the pelvis onto the abdomen and increasing the risk of internal injuries,” IIHS President David Harkey said in the report. “In the three poor-rated vehicles, measurements taken from the rear dummy also indicated likely injuries to the head or neck as well as to the chest.”

The new data from the IIHS comes as the safety organization launched a new crash examination called the “moderate overall front crash test.” That measures the impact when the front corners of two vehicles driving in opposite directions collide at 40 mph.

The IIHS found that in those conditions in newer vehicles, the risk of a fatal injury is now higher for rear-seat passengers wearing seatbelts than for those in front. Furthermore the IIHS now uses a crash test dummy the size of a small woman or a 12-year-old child in the rear seats, which more accurately represents the average profile of passengers.