The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recognized Volvo's 2019 S90 sedan and XC90 midsize SUV with Top Safety Pick awards. While the XC90 earns the award outright, the S90 can claim top safety status only when it is outfitted with specific headlights.

These latest honors bring Volvo’s total to four IIHS safety awards for 2019 models, including three Top Safety Picks and one highest-tier Top Safety Pick+ award.

Both models were put through the paces and earned good ratings in six painstaking crashworthiness evaluations. These included the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, head restraint, and passenger-side small overlap front tests.

But vehicles must also achieve an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.

The S90 and the XC90 didn't fall short in either category. Both vehicles are equipped with Volvo's City Safety front crash prevention system, which earned superior ratings from IIHS engineers. The system in both models prevented crashes in 12 and 25 mph track tests.

The XC90 is available with two headlight options. Both its base headlights and optional curve-adaptive headlights earn acceptable ratings — putting the model over the top for the Top Safety Pick recognition.

In the case of the S90, the vehicle’s base headlights — static LED reflectors with high-beam assist — earn an acceptable rating in IIHS tests, giving the car the final criterion needed for Top Safety Pick status. However, its premium curve-adaptive LED reflectors with high-beam assist scored only a marginal rating.