Audi Q6 E-Tron, Buick Enclave, Nissan Armada Earn Top Safety Pick Plus Awards

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducts more rigorous testing than the government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration evaluations. For example, the IIHS ratings take into account the performance of automated safety systems and the headlights, neither of which NHTSA checks. The result is that when a model earns the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick Plus award, we take notice.

The IIHS just released the scores from its latest round of 2025 model testing. It evaluated 11 vehicles, and three of them received the Top Safety Pick Plus award. In addition, one model earned the Top Safety Pick honor. The remaining seven cars failed to get either prize for various reasons. Let’s check out the results.

2025 IIHS Crash Test Results

The 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron earned its Top Safety Pick Plus award by earning Good ratings in all of the necessary categories. The 2025 Buick Enclave also received the honor but had an Acceptable score for its standard pedestrian front crash prevention system. The 2025 Nissan Armada was the other winner with strong results, except for an Acceptable assessment for the headlights.

The 2025 GMC Acadia had the scores to be a Top Safety Pick. It had Acceptable scores in the updated moderate overlap front crash test and for its pedestrian front crash prevention system.

The results for the Enclave and Acadia are only for examples with manufacturing dates after January 2025. Examples from before that wouldn’t qualify for the awards because the earlier models have a Marginal rating for their headlights.

The IIHS has precise rules for how a vehicle can earn a Top Safety Pick Plus or a Top Safety Pick award.

The Top Safety Pick Plus requirements are:

• Good rating in the small overlap front test
• Good rating in the updated moderate overlap front test
• Good rating in the updated side test
• Acceptable or good headlights standard
• Acceptable or good in the pedestrian front crash prevention test

The Top Safety Pick conditions are:

• Good rating in the small overlap front test
• Acceptable rating in the updated moderate overlap front test
• Good rating in the updated side test
• Acceptable or good headlights standard
• Acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test

And The Rest

The table below shows the results for the rest of the tested vehicles and their scores.

The Kia K4’s ratings only apply to examples with production dates before February 2025. The IIHS hasn’t yet tested the newer, updated model.

TopSpeed reached out to the IIHS to inquire about why the 2025 Audi Q6 Sportback E-Tron didn’t receive a moderate overlap crash test rating. A spokesperson told us: “We didn’t actually independently test the Sportback. Instead, most of the ratings carried over from the non-Sportback version. Our team determined, however, that there are sufficient differences between the regular Q6 e-tron and Sportback variants to require an independent test in the updated moderate overlap configuration, which we haven’t the chance to carry out. Since the updated moderate overlap test is focused so heavily on the rear seat, even subtle differences in the seat or belt anchor locations mean we generally can’t carry ratings between models built on the same platform.

“With that in mind, it’s possible the Q6 Sportback e-tron could earn an award later on this year if and when we have the chance to test it. For now, I know it’s not on our schedule.”

TopSpeed’s Take

The latest IIHS results are fascinating because they show the safety differences among 2025 vehicles. For example, the Cadillac Lyriq performs quite well in crash tests, but its tech prevents it from being a Top Safety Pick.

The testers said the headlights were “inadequate” during sharp right turns, and the low beams caused excessive glare on the sharp right curve. This is an important safety factor, but it’s not something that many buyers would consider before purchasing a Lyriq, because most test drives happen during the day.

Plus, the agency posts videos of many of its crash tests on YouTube, which allows people to see how a vehicle performs in a crash. Reading the results is one thing, but seeing things helps many people put the situation into perspective.