Long known for making some of the safest vehicles in the industry, Toyota has stolen the show once again this year at the highly-anticipated IIHS Safety Awards. Here we will look at what this latest round of recognition is all about.
Who is the IIHS?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, otherwise known as the IIHS, is considered one of the world’s leading vehicle safety experts. This widely respected organization was founded back in 1959; it is both independent and non-profit; and has a mandate of reducing injuries, deaths, and property damage due to motor vehicle crashes.
What are the IIHS awards?
Every year the IIHS evaluates the latest vehicles on the market to determine their level of safety according to two main elements. These are 1) their crashworthiness (i.e. their ability to protect occupants during a crash) and 2) their crash avoidance and mitigation (i.e. their technology designed to prevent a crash or lessen its severity).
The vehicles that perform best on IIHS testing are named IIHS award winners, with the two categories of awards being ‘Top Safety Pick’ and ‘Top Safety Pick +’.
How are award winners chosen?
Top Safety Pick
To qualify for a ‘Top Safety Pick’ award, vehicles must earn ‘GOOD’ ratings for head restraint tests, as well as for driver-side small overlap front and moderate overlap front, side, roof strength. They must also achieve an ‘ADVANCED’ or ‘SUPERIOR’ rating for front crash prevention, along with a ‘GOOD’ or ‘ACCEPTABLE’ headlight rating.
Top Safety Pick +
To qualify for a ‘Top Safety Pick +’ award, vehicles must meet the same standard set for the ‘Top Safety Pick’ award, as well as achieve an ‘ACCEPTABLE’ or ‘GOOD’ rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test and a ‘GOOD’ headlight rating.
Toyota’s 2018 winners
Toyota vehicles received widespread praise from the IIHS this year, continuing a long and proud tradition of being applauded for their vehicle safety efforts. Below is a list of the Toyotas highlighted by the IIHS for 2018, along with several Toyota-made Lexus vehicles recognized.
Small cars
2018 Toyota Corolla – Top Safety Pick
2018 Toyota Prius – Top Safety Pick
2018 Toyota Prius Prime – Top Safety Pick
Midsize cars
2018 Toyota Camry (with specific headlights) – Top Safety Pick +
Midsize luxury cars
2018 Lexus ES 350 (with specific headlights) – Top Safety Pick
2018 Lexus IS – Top Safety Pick
Large cars
2018 Toyota Avalon (with specific headlights) – Top Safety Pick
Large luxury cars
2018 Lexus RC (with specific headlights) – Top Safety Pick +
Small SUVs
2018 Toyota RAV4 (with specific headlights) – Top Safety Pick
Midsize SUVs
2018 Toyota Highlander – Top Safety Pick
Midsize luxury SUVs
2018 Lexus NX – Top Safety Pick
2018 Lexus RX (with specific headlights) – Top Safety Pick
If you are searching for a vehicle that can keep you and your family safe, head straight to Funk’s Toyota, because you won’t find a better range of high quality new and used vehicles anywhere else. Just give us a call, connect online, or drop by and get behind the wheel of something great today here in Steinbach.
