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Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander rated top safest cars of 2019

By Beatrice Obwocha

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has released a list of top safe cars of 2019.

The organization conducts vehicle tests to determine crashworthiness, that is, how well a vehicle protects its occupants in case of a crash.

They also rate vehicles for front crash prevention, systems that warn the driver or brake automatically to avoid or mitigate head-on collision, and evaluate headlights.

The vehicles that perform best in the tests qualify for Top Safety Pick. There are two categories of ratings, Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+.

In a post on IIHS website, for a vehicle to qualify for Top Safety Pick, it must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, have acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also must earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and acceptable headlight rating.

To qualify for 2019 Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It also must earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good headlight rating.

Here is the list of Top Safety Pick cars for 2019

Minicars:

2019 Hyundai Accent-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Kia Rio 4-door hatchback-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Kia Rio 4-door sedan-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

Small cars:

2019 Hyundai Elantra GT-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights; applies only to vehicles built after July 2018

2019 Nissan Kicks-with specific headlights

2019 Toyota Corolla-with specific headlights; applies only to 4-door hatchbacks

Midsize cars:

 2019 Honda Accord-with specific headlights

2019 Nissan Altima-with specific headlights

Midsize luxury cars:

2019 Audi A3-with specific headlights

2019 Audi A4-with specific headlights

Large cars:

2019 Kia Cadenza-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

Small SUVs:

2019 BMW X2

2019 Honda CR-V-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Hyundai Tucson-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Mazda CX-3-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Mitsubishi Outlander-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Subaru Forester

Midsize SUVs:

2019 Honda Pilot

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Mazda CX-9-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Nissan Pathfinder-with specific headlights; applies only to vehicles built after August 2018

2019 Toyota Highlander

Minivans:

2019 Chrysler Pacifica-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Honda Odyssey-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights


Vehicles on the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ list are:

Small cars:

2019 Honda Insight

2019 Hyundai Elantra-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights; applies only to vehicles built after September 2018

2019 Kia Forte-with specific headlights

2019 Kia Niro hybrid-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Subaru Crosstrek-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Subaru Impreza 4-door sedan-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Subaru Impreza 4-door wagon-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Subaru WRX-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

Midsize cars:

2019 Hyundai Sonata-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Kia Optima-with specific headlights

2019 Subaru Legacy-with specific headlights

2019 Subaru Outback-with specific headlights

2019 Toyota Camry-with specific headlights

Midsize luxury cars:

2019 Genesis G70-with specific headlights

2019 Lexus ES 350-with specific headlights

2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class-with specific headlights; applies only to 4-door sedans

Large cars:

2019 Toyota Avalon-with specific headlights; applies only to vehicles built after September 2018

Large luxury cars:

2019 BMW 5 series-with specific headlights

2019 Genesis G80-with specific headlights

2019 Genesis G90

2019 Lincoln Continental-with specific headlights

2019 Mercedes-Benz E-Class-with specific headlights; applies only to 4-door sedans

Small SUVs:

2019 Hyundai Kona-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Mazda CX-5-with specific headlights

Midsize SUVs:

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe-with specific headlights

2019 Kia Sorento-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Subaru Ascent-with specific headlights

Midsize luxury SUVs:

2019 Acura RDX-with specific headlights

2019 BMW X3-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC-with specific headlights

2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class-with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights