Insurance Institute Awards Top Safety Picks for 2018
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards to 68 2018-model-year vehicles in 10 categories. Of the winners, 21 vehicles have earned the Top Safety Pick+, while 47 others have earned the Top Safety Pick.
Photo of 2018 Toyota Camry crash test courtesy of IIHS.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards to 68 2018-model-year vehicles in 10 categories. Of the winners, 21 vehicles have earned the Top Safety Pick+, while 47 others have earned the Top Safety Pick.
Winners were announced for small cars, midsize cars, midsize luxury cars, large cars, large luxury cars, small SUVs, midsize SUVs, midsize luxury SUVs, minivans, and large pickups.
Sixteen cars earned a Top Safety Pick+, which means the vehicle earned good ratings in the driver-size small overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restrain tests, as well as acceptable or good ratings in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It must also earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good headlight rating.
Winners included the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Forte, Kia Soul, Subaru Impreza, Subaru WRX, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outlook, and Toyota Camry. Luxury models that earned the award included the BMW 5 Series, Genesis G80, Genesis G90, Lexus RC, Lincoln Continental, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Five utility vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick+ including the Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Kia Sorento, BMW X3, and Mercedes-Benz GLC.
Several categories didn't include vehicles that earned the top award, including midsize luxury cars, large cars, small SUVs, minivans, and large pickups.
View the full list of Top Safety Pick winners here.
More Safety
The Safest Fleets Aren’t the Ones with the Most Technology
You’ve made the telematics investment. Here’s how to capture the other half of its value and build the safest fleet on the road.
Read More →
Hidden in Plain Sight: Fleet Compliance Risks
Fleet compliance isn't just about having policies — it's about consistently enforcing them. This practical guide reveals six hidden compliance risks common in public sector and shared fleet operations and outlines proven strategies to improve visibility, accountability, and audit readiness
Read More →
NETS Sets 2026 Fleet Safety Benchmark Conference for Indianapolis
The Sept. 15–17 program will feature fleet benchmarking data, case studies, emerging technologies, and implementation strategies while running alongside the NSC Safety Congress & Expo.
Read More →
Off-the-Job Crashes Account for 43% of Employers’ $61.7 Billion Crash Burden
NETS quantifies costs dispersed across fleet, risk, HR, and other departments while providing new per-crash benchmarks for employers.
Read More →
Ram Recalls More Than 1.27 Million 1500 Pickups for Seat Belt Anchor Issue
The recall affects certain 2019-2026 Ram 1500 pickups that may have improperly attached second-row seat belt buckle anchors.
Read More →
How Better Visibility Cut Speeding Violations by 48%
Fleet leaders don't need more data, they need clearer visibility into what the data is saying. This case study explores how one utility replaced speeding-event counts with a single metric — miles driven in violation — to strengthen safety and significantly reduce speeding violations.
Read More →
Operation Safe Driver Week: Why the Industry's Oldest Safety Campaign Still Matters to Fleets
A look at how a 2007 enforcement initiative became one of the most consequential weeks on the fleet safety calendar, and what it means for your drivers in 2026.
Read More →
Nexar-Nauto Merger Aims to Give Fleets Better Safety Intelligence Through Larger Driving Dataset
Stefan Heck tells Automotive Fleet that combining more than 10 billion miles of driving history with Nexar's AI models will give fleets deeper insights into driver risk and roadway conditions than either company could provide independently.
Read More →
From Silos to Solutions: Relationship Management for Safer Fleets
From telematics adoption and driver accountability to policy consistency and risk mitigation, this episode breaks down what it really takes to build a safer fleet culture without slowing business down.
Read More →
IIHS Launches First Commercial Vehicle Safety Evaluations
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has begun evaluating heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans for driver protection. Which models earned top marks?
Read More →