Over the last several decades, the American car market has seen a new type of car rise to become one of the most popular of all time: the crossover. Fortunately for those of us in the used car market, that means there are millions upon millions of crossovers to choose from. But which ones are the safest?
That's where data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) comes in. Each year, the IIHS performs a suite of rigorous crash tests, evaluates other safety features and technologies offered on a given model of car and assigns ratings.
The best performers in each category get the award of Top Safety Pick, with more recent years also offering a Top Safety Pick+ designation for cars that offer additional safety technology or features even beyond those of the Top Safety Pick winners. That's great for buyers of new cars, but what does it mean for the used car buyer?
The IIHS' ratings give both new-car and used-car shoppers alike a window into what may be the safest vehicles of each model year. So if you want the safest car made this year, look at the latest results.
We've trawled through the winners of the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards for the 2010 through 2017 model years, looking for the safest of the safe in the midsize SUV and midsize luxury SUV category—categories that cover pretty much every crossover on the market.
In the list, you'll see vehicles ranked by their number of wins, followed by the years in which they won the TSP award. For vehicles that have won both TSP and TSP+ awards over the years, each will be listed separately. If there are restrictions or requirements to earn the TSP award in a given model year (vehicles built after a certain date, or equipped with certain features) those will be listed alongside the year applicable.
It's important to remember that even having a single TSP win to its name means that vehicle is among the safest of its kind in the year it was made—so no matter which crossover on this list strikes your fancy, it's a good bet for safety.
The top choice for a safe midsize crossover, your very best bets—according to IIHS test results, are:
Each won multiple TSP and TSP+ awards. Of course, there are other factors which should also figure into your purchase decision:
That's why we made this list, to provide you with the widest possible selection of safe, used crossovers.
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2015, 2016
TSP: 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2014, 2015, 2016 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2010 (After March), 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
TSP+: 2014 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2014, 2015, 2016 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012
TSP+: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
TSP+: 2013, 2015, 2016
TSP: 2010 (After May), 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2011 (After February), 2012, 2013, 2015
TSP: 2010 (After March), 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
TSP: 2010 (After January), 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
TSP: 2010 (Late), 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2010 (2011 models after March), 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 (2016 models), 2016 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2010 (After March), 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2015 (2016 models with optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2010, 2011, 2013
TSP: 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2015, 2016 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2011, 2012, 2013 (2-row Sport models and 3-row models)
TSP+: 2016 (Sport, 2017 with optional front crash prevention built after March 2016)
TSP: 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP: 2011 (After February), 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2016
TSP: 2011, 2012, 2013
TSP+: 2013 (2014 models built after August), 2014, 2015 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2012, 2013
TSP: 2011, 2012
TSP: 2015
TSP+: 2016
TSP: 2013 (2014 models)
TSP+: 2015, 2016 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP+: 2015, 2016 (Optional front crash prevention)
TSP: 2015
TSP: 2013
Not your typical used car salesman. Our team is here to provide honest and transparent advice about car buying and selling.