For 2021 models, Volvo has captured 14 Top Safety Pick+ awards, the top safety honor bestowed by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). That’s the most awards of any automaker to date for 2021 models. 

The five most recent Volvo models selected for the Institute’s highest recognition include three wagons, the large V90 and the V90 Cross County and the midsize V60 Cross Country, as well as two large sedans, the S90 and the plug-in hybrid S90 Recharge.  

Except for the V60 Cross Country, the ratings on all vehicles apply to models built after September 2020, as the headlights in models built previously did not measure up to the strict standards of IIHS. 

All five models aced the six IIHS crashworthiness tests, earning good ratings across the board. These included the driver- and passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints tests. The Institute’s engineers also evaluated each vehicle’s front crash prevention system, ensuring they all deserved advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. 

Finally, to score “plus” status, vehicles must come with good or acceptable headlights across all trim levels and packages. The V60 Cross Country met the criterion. The other four models did so as well, but only in vehicles built after September 2020.