IIHS Adds to Safety Rankings
A midsize Hyundai and a small Toyota have joined the nonprofit's 2026 Top Safety Pick+ award rankings, thanks to improved crash test results and crash-prevention measures.

Qualifying front crash-prevention systems must be standard for the Top Safety Pick and the Top Safety Pick+ awards.
Pexels/Dietmar Janssen
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety picked two more vehicles for its 2026 Top Safety Pick+ award, the organization's highest designation.
The 2026 Hyundai Palisade and the 2026 Toyota Prius join the 45 other Pick+ winners announced earlier this year. The institute also released new ratings for 14 other models that did not qualify for the Top Safety Pick+ or the lower Top Safety Pick award.
According to the nonprofit group, the Palisade showed improved performance in the a test of the vehicle crashing into a stationary barrier at approximately 40 mph with 40% of its driver's side front end hitting the barrier.
The Prius bumped up its ranking after undergoing an updated vehicle-to-vehicle front crash-prevention evaluation.
IIHS clarified that only Palisades built after November 2025 qualify for the Pick+ award, thanks to changes Hyundai made to its rear seat belt buckles. And all 2026 Prius models qualify for the Pick+ award.
Two additional evaluations for consumers to take into consideration aren’t part of the award criteria: seat belt reminders and Latch child-restraint equipment ease of use.
To see the full list of new rankings, click here.
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