These Are The Top IIHS Crash-Safety Tested EVs

Each year, the independent research organization Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) releases its list of the safest vehicles in occupant and pedestrian protection that hit the market that year. The institute separates the vehicles into categories based on their size when determining their rating. This is because larger cars give more protection, and it wouldn't make sense to pit them against smaller cars. Three electric vehicles were awarded the highest honor of Top Safety Pick + this year. The midsize luxury SUV Genesis Electrified GV70, the midsize Hyundai Ioniq 6, and the small SUV Lexus RZ are the safest EVs released this year, according to the institute.

This isn't the first time EVs have made a splash on this list, as eight Top Safety Pick + awards were handed out to EVs last year. To snag this prestigious award, a vehicle has to pass vigorous testing with the highest scores to meet the criteria laid out by the institute that year. These tests are serious, too, as the cars get propelled into walls at high speeds in the name of science.

After each test, a vehicle is awarded either a Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Poor rating in its respective category. A vehicle has to score a Good rating on the small overlap front tests and original moderate overlap front test for both the driver and passenger side to receive the Top Safety Pick + honor.

For the small overlap front test, the vehicle accelerates at an aluminum structure at 40 mph to simulate a vehicle hitting the front corner of the car. The test is conducted once with the driver's side of the vehicle taking the brunt of the force and again with the passenger side. The moderate overlap front test is similar but with almost half the vehicle's front impacting the structure.

A vehicle also has to get a Good rating in the updated side test to get the highest honor. For this test, a 4,200-pound barrier is slammed into the side of the vehicle at 37 mph to simulate a side-impact crash. Another test that requires a Good rating is the vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention, which rates how the vehicle reacts to a pedestrian in the roadway. This test is conducted at night and daytime to account for lighting scenarios. Due to newly introduced criteria, the vehicles also had to get an Acceptable or Good headlight score.