Hyundai, BMW, and more of the safest cars of 2024
Not all cars are made equally. Some are designed to go faster, while others are specialized for rough terrain, and even more are optimized for distance.
There’s one factor that almost every carmaker puts above the rest, though: safety. But when everyone is lauding their own vehicle’s suite of options, how are people supposed to know what is actually the safest option?
That’s where the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) comes in. The auto safety nonprofit releases its Top Safety Pick awards each year, recognizing automakers for helping keep consumers safe.
The institute handed out its highest award — Top Safety Pick+ — to just 22 vehicles this year, after revising its criteria to require better protection for rear-seat passengers and pedestrian safety features.
“This year’s winners are true standouts, offering the highest level of protection for both vehicle occupants and other vulnerable road users,” David Harkey, the president of the IIHS, said in a statement.
Here are some of the safest vehicles of 2024, as determined by the group.
2024 BMW X3
The BMW X3 was the German automaker’s one and only model to qualify for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick+ award. The midsize SUV scored the highest possible marks on the IIHS’s tests for crashworthiness, crash avoidance, and mitigation, although the institute docked points for its seat belt features and poor child seat anchors.
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Clas
Mercedes-Benz’s sole winner of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick+ award is the GLE-Class midsize luxury SUV. But unlike the other models ranked by the IIHS, the award applies explicitly to the GLE-Class equipped with optional front crash protection, a feature included in the Driver Assistance package.
The SUV scored full marks on the IIHS’s crashworthiness test, although the technology meant to detect and prevent it from crashing into a pedestrian tested poorly. When equipped with the optional protection package, the GLE-Class scored an acceptable rating (the second-highest possible), which falls to marginal if the package was not purchased.
2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6
Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 6 is one of the rare electric options that scored a top award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s rankings. The four-door sedan scored high marks on most of the IIHS’s tests, although it has room for improvement in some. The institute noted that the Ioniq’s headlights aren’t curve-adaptive, and its rear passenger restraints did not adequately protect passengers in a full-frontal crash.
Hyundai Motor Group — the parent company of the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands — won the most overall awards, with six of its models winning the highest and another 10 being granted the second-place award.
2024 Hyundai Kona
Hyundai Motor’s second award-winning model is the Kona, a small four-door SUV. Like the Ioniq 6, the Kona scored largely positive marks, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was displeased at the lack of curve-adaptive headlights. The Kona also needs to improve its child seat anchors, according to the institute.
2024 Acura Integra
Japanese automaker Acura was recognized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for its Integra, a four-door hatchback. The Acura was not among the highest-rated models awarded the IIHS’s Top SafetyPick+. The institute criticized the hatchback for having quiet seat belt reminders, alerts, and poorly installed anchors for child carseats. The IIHS also docked points from the Integra for not providing headlights with curve-adaptive technology and rear passenger restraints strong enough to prevent harm in the event of a crash.
2024 Kia Telluride
The Kia Telluride may be the automaker’s only entry on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2024 rankings, but it came out swinging. The four-door midsize SUV scored top marks on all of the IIHS’s categories, although the institute noted that driver’s may need more protection. The Telluride only received acceptable ratings for protecting the driver’s pelvis area in the event of another vehicle crashing into its side; likewise, should the Telluride be side-swiped, the passenger is vulnerable to torso injuries.
2024 Ford Explorer
The latest edition of Ford Motor Co.’s Explorer was the Detroit automaker’s only model to receive any recognition from the IIHS in 2024. The four-door SUV is a safe bet if you’re looking for protection, boasting full scores in the IIHS’s crashworthiness tests. However, its headlights and front crash prevention system scored as acceptable, while the Explorer’s seat belts were likewise poorly rated.
2024 Toyota Prius
It should come as no surprise that Toyota Motor made its way into the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2024 safety ratings; the Japanese automaker gathered 15 total awards from the IIHS last year, more than any other company. In 2024, the company won 13 awards from the IIHS across its Toyota and Lexus brands, although it only won a single Top Safety Pick+ award.
The Toyota Prius scored top ratings on the IIHS’s tests for seat belts and child restraints and most categories under the crashworthiness and cCrash avoidance and mitigation sections. Like Hyundai Motor’s offerings, the Prius received an acceptable score for its headlights because Toyota doesn’t offer curve-adaptive headlights. The four-door hatchback also failed to protect rear passengers in the event of a crash.
2024 Nissan Pathfinder
The newest Nissan Pathfinder SUV won the Japanese automaker its one and only Top Safety Pick+ on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2024 safety ratings. However, it’s worth noting that the IIHS’s rating only applies to models built after November 2023, when Nissan made improvements to its rear seat belts that increased passenger protection in the event of a crash.
With that stipulation in mind, the Pathfinder achieved top marks in all areas bar its headlights; the IIHS docked points from the SUV because it doesn’t offer curve-adaptive technology in any of its available trims.
2024 Honda Accord
Honda Motor landed two vehicles on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2024 rankings: the mid-size four-door Honda Accord and the Honda HR-V four-door SUV. Both models scored high marks with minor exceptions; the IIHS was displeased that the HR-V lacks curve adaptive headlights and a tough-to-find child seat anchor in the rear seats. The Accord snagged full marks where the HR-V failed, although its front crash prevention system was slapped with a second-place acceptable rank because it failed a night-time simulation, slamming into a dummy pedestrian.
2024 Mazda 3
Mazda Motor landed both versions of its 2024 Mazda 3 on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s latest rankings. The Mazda 3 comes as both a four-door hatchback and a four-door sedan, each with the same rankings. Both variants scored the institute’s top marks, although different trims may affect those rankings. Namely, four of the Mazda 3's headlight options — the Select Sport trim, Preferred trim, Carbon Edition trim, and Carbon Turbo trim — scored lower than Mazda’s Premium and 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus trim.
2024 Acura MDX
The Acura MDX is the company’s other model recognized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2024. The four-door midsize luxury SUV performed adequately on most of its tests, although it was marked by poorer ratings than many of its fellow winners. The MXD did not properly prevent a rear passenger from flailing after a crash — owing to poor seat belt restraints — and crashed into a dummy pedestrian when the IIHS tested its front crash prevention warning systems.
2024 Subaru Ascent
Japan-based Subaru was recognized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s for its 2024 Ascent, a four-door midsize SUV. The Ascent achieved top marks on all IIHS’s tests except for the moderate overlap test, which sees a vehicle travel 40 miles per hour toward a barrier. Although the Ascent adequately protected its dummy driver, the rear passenger was not; the SUV received acceptable ratings for protecting the rear passenger’s head/neck and chest, although it was awarded a better rating for thigh protection.
2024 Tesla Model Y
Tesla — Elon Musk’s electric vehicle juggernaut — was recognized by the Institute for the Model Y, its best-selling SUV. The four-door midsize luxury SUV scored top marks on almost all IIHS tests for crash avoidance and crashworthiness. However, the institute noted that the Model Y could improve its child seat anchors, writing that lower backseat anchors were too deep in the seats to be used properly.