The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced the winners of its 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK and TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards, the highest awards in vehicle safety.

Mazda is once more among the most awarded brands, having five vehicles earn the highest, TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.

When equipped with optional front crash prevention technology, the 2024 model year Mazda3, Mazda3 Sport, and CX-30 receive the 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, while the CX-50 (built after August 2023) and CX-90 also earned the TSP+ award with standard equipment.

Earning the next highest, TOP SAFETY PICK award is the 2024 model year CX-90 PHEV, which is expected to earn the top award soon after it undergoes IIHS’s updated moderate front overlap test.

The 2024 award criteria set new, higher standards in front and side impact protection and take progressive steps toward crash prevention, particularly in day and nighttime pedestrian scenarios. IIHS President David Harkey notes that, “This year’s winners are true standouts, offering the highest level of protection for both vehicle occupants and other vulnerable road users.”

Risen to the top

Mazda has risen to the top through the addition of rear seat belt pretensioners, load limiters and advanced side impact airbags to its already robust structures, as standard equipment across all models. But for Mazda, making safer cars is about more than just protecting the people riding in them: the crash avoidance systems are tuned to consider pedestrians, in a variety of lighting conditions, in an approach to advanced crash avoidance technologies.

“The most important thing in any of our vehicles are the people who drive them, and they trust our vehicles to keep them and their families safe,” said MCI President and CEO David Klan. “This is our utmost priority, and we challenge ourselves every day to keep moving the bar higher so we can continue to earn that trust with every vehicle we make.”