Road safety has improved in recent years, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) releasing data that reveals a 3.3 percent drop in motor vehicle traffic crash fatalities, with only 9,330 from January to March in comparison to 9,645 that took place in the first quarter of 2022. But while this is encouraging, emphasizing stronger road safety to continue reducing this number is vital.
One way that you can improve your safety on the road is by investing in safe cars. Each year, more cars are released with greater safety features that allow you to navigate the road with greater confidence and keep yourself safer in the event of an accident. But which cars should you consider? Below, we’ll take a closer look at some of the safest cars of 2023 to get a better idea of which cars are best suited for your focus on stronger safety.
How Do I Know Certain Cars Are Truly Safe?
There’s a natural hesitation to invest in cars that have been touted as safe with no real backing, which is why we’re only going to look at the TOP SAFETY PICKs provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Each year, the IIHS produces numerous TOP SAFETY PICKs (a category started back in 2006) and vehicles rated TOP SAFETY PICK+ (2013) for consumers across multiple size categories, giving you plenty of options to choose from. It’s one of the most widely regarded road safety ratings besides those offered by the NHTSA.
How Does the IIHS Determine Whether a Vehicle Is Safe?
Modern technological advances have resulted in a host of safety features that can help prevent accidents before they happen. But while these innovations have improved road safety, they’re not of much use should you happen to find yourself involved in a crash. This is why the IIHS focuses on two aspects of rating a car: crash-worthiness and crash avoidance capabilities.
Criteria is subject to change, but the 2023 criteria determining how they decide TOP SAFETY PICKs include:
Cars with a good rating must have done well in the moderate overlap front test as well as the driver and passenger-side small overlap tests in the front.
Good ratings are granted to cars that perform well in the updated side test.
Cars must have an acceptable or good rating in regard to headlight performance.
They must have advanced or superior daytime or nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention (nighttime only requires for TOP SAFETY PICK+).
Some of the other tests not mentioned here that impact the rating a car receives include roof strength and head-restraint crash tests. Put simply, the IIHS wants to make sure that drivers are able to remain safe in the event of a crash, have full visibility of the road as they navigate various conditions, and are able to stop quickly to prevent mistakes from happening and hitting innocent victims in the middle of the road. It’s also important to note that larger vehicles are generally more well-protected during crashes, which means that many of the bigger vehicles are better choices by safety standards.
IIHS TOP SAFETY PICKs by Category
Now that we have a better idea of why cars are rated a certain way by the IIHS, we can start to take a look at some of the top-rated cars for 2023. There are multiple TOP SAFETY PICK+ and TOP SAFETY PICKs across the different vehicle categories, granting you greater flexibility in which car you decide to take out on the road. Here’s an overview of each.
Top Rated Small Cars:
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Honda Civic 4-door hatchback (only receives a top rating if it’s not the Type R performance variant)
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Honda Civic 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Mazda 3 4-door hatchback
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Mazda 3 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Toyota Corolla 4-door hatchback
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Acura Integra 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Toyota Prius 4-door hatchback
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Toyota Prius Prime 4-door hatchback
Top Rated Midsize Cars:
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Hyundai Sonata 4-door sedan (rating only applies to vehicles that were built after December 2022)
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Subaru Legacy 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Honda Accord 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Subaru Outback 4-door wagon
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Toyota Camry 4-door sedan (rating only applies to vehicles built after January 2023)
Top Rated Midsize Luxury Cars:
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Lexus ES 350 4-door sedan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 4-door sedan (rating is conditional, applying to model with optional front crash prevention)
Top Rated Large Luxury Cars:
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Genesis G90 4-door sedan
Top Rated Small SUVs:
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Mazda CX-30 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Mazda CX-5 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023-24 Mazda CX-50 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid 4-door SUV (rating only applies to the vehicles that were built after May 2023)
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Nissan Rogue 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Subaru Forester 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Toyota RAV4 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Toyota Venza 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 BMW X1 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Genesis GV60 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Honda CR-V 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Honda HR-V 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Lexus RZ 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Lexus UX 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Subaru Solterra 4-door SUV (rating only applies to vehicles that were built after October 2022)
Top Rated Midsize SUVs:
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Ford Explorer 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Mazda CX-9 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Honda Pilot 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Hyundai Palisade 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4-door SUV (rating only applies to vehicles that were built after March 2023)
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L 4-door SUV (rating only applies to vehicles that were built after May 2023)
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Kia Telluride 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Mazda CX-90 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Nissan Pathfinder 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Subaru Ascent 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Toyota Highlander 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 4-door SUV
Top Rated Midsize Luxury SUVs:
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Audi Q5 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Audi Q5 Sportback 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK: The 2023 Lincoln Nautilus 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Acura MDX 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Acura RDX 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Audi Q4 e-tron 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 BMW X3 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Genesis GV70 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Genesis GV80 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Infiniti QX60 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Lexus NX 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Lexus RX 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Tesla Model Y 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Volvo XC90 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Volvo XC90 Recharge 4-door SUV
Top Rated Large SUVs:
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023-24 Audi Q7 4-door SUV (rating only applies to vehicles that were built after January 2023)
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Audi Q8 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2024 Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron 4-door SUV
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Rivian R1S 4-door SUV (rating only applies to vehicles that were built after January 2023)
Top Rated Minivans:
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Honda Odyssey Minivan
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Toyota Sienna Minivan
Top Rated Large Pickups:
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Rivian R1T Crew cab pickup
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The 2023 Toyota Tundra Crew cab pickup
TOP SAFETY PICK+: The Toyota Tundra 2023 Extended cab pickup
Additional Driving Safety Tips
Staying safe on the road is a combination of having the right vehicle for your needs and knowing how to drive defensively in order to keep you and other drivers safe. When driving, always make sure that you’re devoting 100 percent of your attention on the road and not to anything else in the vehicle, keep space between you and other drivers while always expecting the unexpected, and always wear your seatbelt and lock your car doors to prevent yourself from being thrown about in the event of an accident. The better prepared and focused you are, the safer you’ll be.
Involved in an Accident? Start Here With Haney Paschal & Romoser
Even with all of the right defensive tactics and vehicles on your side, a mistake can still happen. If you find yourself a victim of a crash, you need an attorney on your side with a deep understanding of Texas law and personal liability who can take your case. Here at Haney Paschal & Romoser, our experienced attorneys are ready to stand by your side as you seek the compensation you deserve for your motor vehicle accident. Contact us today so we can learn more about your case and how we can best support you moving forward.