The Korean Automaker That Tops IIHS Crash Tests

Vehicle safety is kind of important. Nobody plans on crashing their car or truck, but if the unthinkable ever does happen, you’ll really want to be driving or riding in something with exemplary crash test scores. Of course, plenty of manufacturers build vehicles that are supremely safe – it’s not just Volvo anymore, folks – though one company stands above all others: the Hyundai Motor Group.

Think Safety, Think Volvo Hyundai

This South Korean mega-manufacturer is a leader in safety. In 2025, the automaker received the highest number of awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an independent testing organization that puts vehicles through an exhaustive series of rigorous evaluations. This is the second consecutive year the Hyundai Motor Group earned this accolade.

How well did the company perform? Well, a whopping 15 Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles received either a Top Safety Pick (TSP) or Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) award from the IIHS, the highest scores handed out. Breaking things down, seven Hyundai models received one of these honors as did five Genesis vehicles and three Kias.

The seven Hyundais alluded to above all earned a TSP+ rating. These vehicles include the Elantra small sedan (built after October 2024) and the Sonata midsize four-door (built after November 2024). The Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 EVs, Kona small utility vehicle, Tucson SUV, and Santa Fe family hauler are also on this list.

As for Genesis, four models drove home with a TSP+ rating: the GV60 all-electric hatchback, Electrified GV70 utility vehicle, GV80 SUV, and conventional GV70 (built after April of 2024). The G90 luxury sedan took home a TSP award.

And finally, Kia. The mass-market brand’s K4 sedan (built after January 2025), EV9 three-row all-electric SUV, and the popular Telluride family vehicle all earned TSP+ awards. Not bad, eh?

An Ever-Moving Target

The IIHS regularly updates its rating criteria, making crash tests more challenging in order to keep manufacturers on their proverbial toes and continue improving vehicle safety. For 2025, the organization emphasized occupant protection in second-row seats, updating the challenging moderate overlap frontal test.

To earn a TSP or TSP+ award in 2025 a vehicle must receive “good” ratings (the highest score awarded) in the IIHS’s small overlap front test and the revised side-impact crash evaluation. Additionally, a score of at least “acceptable” (the second-highest rating) in both day and night pedestrian crash prevention is required, as is having headlights that are at least “acceptable.”

Hyundai is doing a phenomenal job building exceptionally safe vehicles, really democratizing crash protection. Expect the automaker to continue doing this going forward, and likely outpace rival manufacturers in the process.