2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks: Which Family Cars Made The List

Safety is an essential part of driving, but which family cars are the most reliable?

When it comes to ranking my favorite family cars, safety is a huge piece of the puzzle. It’s an unfortunate truth that accidents while driving are a part of getting behind the wheel. While I can discuss all the latest and greatest tech features, the IIHS truly puts a vehicle’s build to the test. This means a safer cat for both you and your family. 

If you’re new here - welcome! I’m Kelly the Car Mom and I want to help you find the perfect family car you feel safe to get into everyday. Without any further introduction, let’s break down what all goes into IIHS testing, plus which family cars made the 2024 IIHS Top Safety Picks.

What Is The IIHS?

Before we go into depth on what the safety tests consist of, let's discuss who is actually testing these cars. The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) is an organization independent from any manufacturer that's dedicated to evaluating vehicle safety. They conduct rigorous crash tests and assess various safety features to determine how well vehicles protect their passengers in the event of a crash.

I want to be clear about something important: every car sold in the U.S. is government crash-tested and certified as road-safe. What the IIHS does is go further — they identify gaps and push manufacturers to do better. Their ratings help families make more informed choices, especially when it comes to protecting the people in the back seat.

If you want a full explainer on how IIHS testing works, check out my post IIHS Top Safety Picks: Which Family Cars Made The List.

Can I Trust IIHS Rankings?

Absolutely. The IIHS operates separately from any car-related organization meaning there is no manipulating results to make certain cars perform better than others. To take it a step further, each car tested is purchased at the dealership like an average consumer to ensure validity to how they perform off the lot

Most importantly, the IIHS is constantly trying to make their tests more difficult each year to raise the bar for manufacturers for continuous improvement of their safety standards. We love to see it!

The IIHS purchases these cars directly from the dealership lot. If a manufacturer is requesting testing on a car, they will reimburse the IIHS for that purchase.

Why Are IIHS Top Safety Rankings Important?

IIHS rankings help anyone purchasing a car avoid specific vehicles that could potentially cause harm in accidents. For families specifically, this is really important for peace of mind and overall caution when loading up your kids on a daily basis.

The IIHS breaks down their rankings into two categories:

• Crashworthiness: How well a car protects occupants
• Crash Avoidance/Mitigation: Technologies that prevent or lessen the severity of crashes

Together, these categories help create a full picture on what a vehicle will do to protect your family if a crash ever occurs.

What Is The IIHS Crash Test Criteria?

What the IIHS is most known for is their IIHS crash tests, which include putting pressure on the moderate overlap front, small overlap front, and sides. These crash tests will cover the entire vehicle to see how well it does if impact occurs on any side.

Beyond the crash tests, the IIHS also evaluates headlight systems and how front crash prevention technology (such as pedestrian detection) will perform on a daily basis. 

They also rate seat belt reminders and LATCH which is great.

The IIHS provides so much information on what they test for each car, and if you’re interested in knowing the details of each test, I’ll leave them right here.

Is This The Same As Car Seat Safety Testing?

No, car seat testing is completely different. IIHS safety crash tests are focused on seeing how vehicles perform with adult-sized test dummies inside.

Car seat manufacturers go through their own series of tests (some very similar to what the IIHS conducts).

How Are Cars Being Tested?

During testing, vehicles are put through a series of simulations that recreate potential real-world crashes. Engineers orchestrate each scenario to gauge how well vehicles perform under pressure and protect their passengers.

To do this correctly, adult-sized test dummies are used to see the impact on human occupants in each seat in the vehicle.

You can actually go to their YouTube channel to watch recordings of the crash tests - it’s super interesting!

What Cars Are Being Tested?

The IIHS provides a list of top safety picks, including SUVs and family cars. These vehicles prioritize safety features without compromising on other factors like price.

Full-size and three-row SUVs have slowly been gaining popularity over the last decade, and it was only a matter of time before the IIHS took a serious look. I'm thrilled that we can now see how these family haulers perform, since so many of us rely on them every single day.

We've always assumed these large SUVs were "safe" simply because of their size — but it turns out there are some important areas that still need work.

2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks By Vehicle Size

Below I've broken down every SUV that made the 2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks list by size category. You'll notice a ** next to some of them — those are vehicles I personally love for families, for reasons beyond just safety ratings. Click through to each full review to see why!

For this list, I’ve combined my Best Cars for Families list with the ones ranked by The IIHS ranks as either “Top Safety Pick” or “Top Safety Pick +”. To receive the +, vehicles needed to perform well during a nighttime test, along with all the other crash testing.

To be clear, this is not the complete list! My goal is to help you find a family car that checks as many of the boxes as possible and below are the cars that made the IIHS Top Safety Pick List AND as The Car Mom stamp of approval as family-friendly for many.

2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks - Midsize SUVs

• 2026 Buick Enclave **
• 2026 Ford Explorer
• 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E
• 2026 Honda Passport **
• 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9
• 2026 Hyundai Palisade **
• 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe  **
• 2026 Kia EV9
• 2026 Kia Sorento **
• 2026 Mazda CX-70
• 2026 Mazda CX-70 PHEV
• 2026 Mazda CX-90
• 2026 Mazda CX-90 PHEV
• 2026 Nissan Murano
• 2026 Nissan Pathfinder
• 2026 Subaru Ascent **
• 2026 Subaru Outback
• 2026 Volkswagen Atlas **
• 2026 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks - Midsize Luxury SUVs

• 2026 Audi Q5
• 2026 Audi Q5 Sportback
• 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron
• 2027 Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron
• 2026 BMW X3
• 2026 BMW X5 **
• 2026 Genesis Electrified GV70
• 2026 Genesis GV70
• 2026 Genesis GV80
• 2026 Infiniti QX60
• 2026 Lexus NX
• 2026 Lincoln Nautilus
• 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC
• 2026 Volvo XC90
• 2026 Volvo XC90 Plug-In Hybrid

2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks - Large SUVs

Three large SUVs earned a Top Safety Pick this year, and two earned the highest honor of Top Safety Pick+. But you'll notice some very popular family vehicles — like the Tahoe, Expedition, and Sequoia — are missing from this list. That's not because they weren't tested. They were. They just didn't earn an award. I'll break that down below.

2026 IIHS Award Winners:

• 2026 Audi Q7
• 2026 Infiniti QX80
• 2026 Nissan Armada
• 2026 Rivian R1S
• 2026 Volvo EX90 **

Tested but did not earn an award:

• 2026 Audi Q8 — Marginal on moderate overlap front; Poor for front crash prevention vehicle-to-vehicle (standard system)
• 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe — Poor on small overlap passenger side; crash prevention and headlights not tested
• 2026 Ford Expedition — Marginal on both small overlap front driver and passenger sides; crash prevention not tested
• 2026 Toyota Sequoia — Marginal on moderate overlap front; Marginal for front crash prevention vehicle-to-vehicle; Poor headlights

If you drive one of these vehicles, take a breath — they are legally certified as road-safe. Focus on what you can control: everyone buckled, and every car seat installed correctly every single time. That will always be your biggest safety factor.

The 2026 list is one of the strongest we've seen — especially in the midsize and luxury categories. There are genuinely great options at every price point, and I'm so glad the IIHS is now regularly testing large SUVs too, since so many families rely on them daily.

2026 IIHS Ratings for Minivans

If you're a minivan family, you might have noticed that no minivans appeared on the 2026 IIHS Top Safety Picks list — and I want to address that directly, because I know a lot of you drive these.

It's not that minivans weren't tested. They were. None of them earned an award this year.

Here's how the 2026 minivan results shook out:

• Toyota Sienna — Good on small overlap front, but Marginal on moderate overlap front
• Honda Odyssey — Good on small overlap front, but Poor on moderate overlap front
• Chrysler Pacifica — Marginal on moderate overlap front; Marginal on seat belt reminders
• Chrysler Voyager — Poor on headlights; moderate overlap front not tested
• Kia Carnival — Marginal on moderate overlap front; headlights and crash prevention not tested

This is genuinely disappointing, especially for vehicles that so many families rely on. The moderate overlap front test is where most of them are falling short, and I'm hopeful that manufacturers will take these results seriously and make improvements. The IIHS exists to create exactly this kind of pressure.

If you drive a minivan, keep doing what you're doing: proper car seat installation, everyone buckled, every trip. And keep an eye on updated ratings as manufacturers make changes throughout the model year.

Kelly, Would You Buy A Car Not On The IIHS Top Safety List?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Safety is undoubtedly a top priority when choosing a family vehicle, but it's just one of many factors to consider. I recognize that sometimes a car that doesn't top the safety charts might still be the best fit for your family, whether due to budget constraints or specific preferences. The most important thing is that you're making a well-informed decision that balances safety with your family's unique needs and circumstances.

The IIHS Top Safety Picks are used as a tool to help guide your car-buying choices, not make you sell your current vehicle and buy a new one.

For the complete IIHS ratings, view the full list at IIHS.org.

Remember, the best way to keep your kids safe in any car is to have them secured properly in their car seat and ensure that their car seat is installed correctly in your car!