Other Vehicle Features Adding Safety
- Auto On/Off Headlights: Photosensors monitor daylight, automatically engaging the headlights as the daylight dims and extinguishing them as daylight returns.
- Auto-Dimming Mirrors: Using photosensors, they detect bright headlights approaching from behind, automatically dimming the reflection of those lights. Any inside or outboard rearview mirrors can include this feature.
- Head-Up Display (HUD): Engineered to help shorten the time a driver’s eyes are off the road, a HUD projects crucial information onto the windshield just below the driver’s line of sight. This projected image allows you to check information, like vehicle speed, in less time than glancing down at the speedometer.
- Heated Outboard Mirrors: Electrically heated, these mirrors automatically clear the mirror surface of snow, ice, and fog.
- Hill Start Assist: Sensors alert the system that you stopped on an incline. Therefore, transferring your foot from the brake to the accelerator retains brake pressure to prevent the vehicle from rolling backward.
- LED Headlights: These headlamps illuminate a wider and longer area than regular incandescent or halogen lights; LED headlights are also easier for other drivers to spot. All exterior LED lights (taillights, fog lights, and daytime running lights [DRLs]) improve visibility and safety.
- Outboard Mirrors With Integrated Turn Signals: These mirrors have turn signal repeaters located on their outer shells.
- Rain-Sensing Wipers: This system automatically engages the wipers when it senses moisture on the windshield. The wiper speed adjusts, compensating for the volume of rain.
- Rear Occupant Alert: Upon exiting the vehicle, this system sounds auditory reminders to check the back seat for children and pets.
- Rearview Mirror Camera: With the press of a button, the image in the rearview mirror can switch from a reflection of what is behind the vehicle to an image from a rear-pointed camera. If something is blocking the reflection, the camera image still sees what is behind the vehicle, even providing a wider view.
Vehicle Crash and Safety Testing
The IIHS and NHTSA remain the most universally acknowledged crash and safety testing experts. Here is a summary of their processes.
IIHS
Independent and nonprofit, the IIHS gains its funding from auto insurers and insurance associations. Currently, it performs four core crash tests on cars, light trucks, minivans, and SUVs, which were critical to our research. They include a driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side overlap front, moderate overlap front, and side. The side protocol tests both the driver and passenger side; therefore, you could technically call the side protocol two tests for a total of five.
A vehicle can earn scores of Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Poor. Every model on our list earned the highest score of Good for every testing scenario.
TIP: The IIHS changed its side crash-test protocol in 2021, incorporating a heavier ram. Although the results of this new version of the test were shown in some vehicles’ results in the past couple of years, 2023 was the first year the IIHS figured those results into a vehicle’s scoring. Consequently, testing and finalizing the 2023 and 2024 scores required extra time. An ongoing difficulty of the IIHS and NHTSA acquiring vehicles for testing has slowed the testing process considerably.
In addition to the crash tests, the IIHS assesses other features as they apply to safety, such as headlights, vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, and vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention. Scoring for this group of tests tops out at Superior, descending to Advanced and Basic. The IIHS also considers the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) child-seat systems.
Only SUVs and minivans scoring high marks in both the crash and safety scenarios earn the IIHS most coveted safety awards of Top Safety Pick (TSP) and Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+). All of our picks are ones the IIHS named to the TSP or TSP+ lists. The difference between the two awards is the TSP+ winners are vehicles picked for scoring Good or Acceptable in the updated moderate overlap front test; the TSP winners currently have a Good rating in the original moderate overlap front test.
Note: When the IIHS tests vehicles, they treat plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV) as distinct models, scoring them separately from internal combustion engine (ICE) models. However, the IIHS views hybrid models that don’t require charging through an outside source as a trim level of the ICE model. If a gas-powered model made this list with a TSP or TSP+ rating, its hybrid version did, too.
NHTSA
NHTSA is an agency of the federal Department of Transportation. It only performs front and side crash tests and uses a 1-Star to 5-Star scoring system. The highest score is the 5-Star rating.
The front crash-test protocol involves running a vehicle into a fixed barrier at 35 miles per hour. NHTSA combines the results of side-barrier and driver’s door side-pole crashes to arrive at a side crash score. There is a rollover scenario where NHTSA doesn’t perform a crash test. Instead, it tests vehicles for their likelihood of rolling over. Star ratings are also awarded for the rollover test.
However, there are a handful of SUVs on this list that NHTSA has yet to test. Mostly, they are untested new or redesigned models. We include those here on the strength of their IIHS score and note the lack of a government rating in the description.
Safest SUVs That May Still Qualify
With the changes in the IIHS testing protocols beginning last year, we decided to include a list of 2024 Safest SUVs that are still in testing and might still make the 2024 list.
- 2024 Acura ZDX
- 2024 Audi Q8
- 2024 BMW X6
- 2024 Buick Encore GX
- 2024 Buick Envista
- 2024 Chevrolet Blazer
- 2024 Chevrolet Trailblazer
- 2024 Chevrolet Trax
- 2024 Ford Bronco Sport
- 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E
- 2024 Hyundai Nexo
- 2024 Kia EV6
- 2024 Kia Seltos
- 2024 Mazda CX-5
- 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC
- 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander/Outlander PHEV
- 2025 Subaru Forester
- 2024 Volvo C40 Recharge
- 2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge
The Safest SUVs
This list contains primarily 2024 models. However, some makers, like Toyota, had already begun marketing a few 2025 models when this was written. Our experience has been that the IIHS TSP and TSP+ apply to subsequent model years if the vehicle is unchanged and the IIHS hasn’t changed its testing protocols. We are confident the 2025 models we include will retain their spot on the TSP or TSP+ lists for 2025. Prices are the manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRP), including the mandatory factory-to-dealer delivery fee (destination charge). The prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
2024 Acura MDX
Best Safety Value: $51,500 (MDX)
Base Price: $51,500 | Expert Rating: 4.5
Combined Fuel Economy: 22 mpg
This 3-row luxury Acura MDX shines for its roomy cabin and advanced technologies. The IIHS named it to the TSP+ list. Acura provides every MDX with seven airbags, hill start assist, a rear camera washer, heated outboard mirrors, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. Also included are auto on/off LED headlights and high-beam assist. Every MDX also provides the AcuraWatch bundle of advanced safety and driver-aid technologies. Included are lane departure warning with steering assist, lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are standard, as well.
Stepping up a notch to the MDX with Technology Package gains a little more advanced tech. Front/rear park assist with automatic braking assist, rain-sensing wipers, and AcuraLink with Real-Time Traffic are included. We don’t think the extra $4,700 makes value sense in terms of safety gained. We recommend going with the base MDX. If you consider all-wheel drive (AWD) a safety item, you can pick up Acura’s impressive Super Handling All-Wheel Drive for $2,200.
See Acura MDX models for sale near you
2024 Acura RDX
