SUVs best safety ratings: A guide to rugged sport utility vehicles the provide optimal safety to passengers.
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While you might feel strong behind the wheel of an SUV, you'll find some models have a higher safety rating than others. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides a list of the best safety ratings for SUVs every year for models currently on the road. The IIHS looks at a number of factors before grading SUVs of different sizes.
Small SUV safety ratings
The IIHS divides SUVs into small, midsize, midsize luxury and large. It also assigns a rating of Good, Acceptable, Marginal or Poor for frontal crashes, side crashes and rear impacts and how the SUV handles rollovers.
For the latest year, the IIHS gave A grades across the board to the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tuscon, Jeep Patriot, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, Subaru Forester and Volkswagen Tiguan in the small SUV category. These smaller SUVs typically get more miles per gallon than some of the larger models.
Midsize SUV safety ratings
Sixteen midsize models received high marks in all categories from the IIHS: the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Dodge Durango, Dodge Journey, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, Ford Flex, Honda Crosstour, Honda Pilot, Toyota 4Runner, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Subaru Tribeca, Toyota Highlander and Toyota Venza.
The IIHS doesn't look at other features of the models like the mpg or cost, but you should take a look at those factors before choosing any new model.
Large SUV safety ratings
When it comes to the safety rating on larger vehicles, the IIHS issues car rankings that gave high marks to several models. The Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse and Volkswagen Touareg received the highest marks, while the Audi Q7 received the highest marks in three of the four categories.
If you check a car buying guide for the best safety ratings for SUVs, you might look at reviews of luxury models. Your buyer's guide should point out that 13 of these models received a top safety pick designation from the IIHS based on its reviews of the four features.
Volvo, Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, Infinity, Lexus, Volvo and Mercedes had vehicles that received this designation. Several other models, including the BMW X5 and Infiniti QX4, didn't get high marks because the IIHS didn't test certain features of those models.
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The IIHS is the main organization responsible for testing the safety features on new models. Those that receive the highest marks become a top safety pick, and you can easily check out how those vehicles handle crashes and impacts.
Buyerlink gives you more information about specific models, including the placement of airbags, reviews from customers and experts, and the interior space on different SUVs. When you research the best safety ratings for SUVs, you will learn how various manufacturers build these cars to keep passengers protected, which might make you feel a little better when it comes to driving one.