10 Cars With a 5-Star Safety Rating

2018 Tesla Model 3 ・ Photo by Tesla

You may be the world’s safest driver, but you can’t control the drivers around you — no matter how careful you are, you’ll likely be in a car accident someday. To minimize injury, you want a car with the highest crash-test scores. Two organizations test U.S. cars: The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), a nonprofit backed by most insurance companies, and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a government agency.

An IIHS Top Safety Pick rating means a car achieved a top score of Good in all six individual IIHS crash tests, as well as a score of Advanced or Superior for its automatic emergency braking system. A further designation of Top Safety Pick+ applies when the vehicle’s standard-equipment headlights score Good or Acceptable. Meanwhile, the NHTSA measures head-on frontal and side-impact crash-test scenarios, as well as the likelihood that a vehicle will roll over in a collision. Getting a 5-star overall rating from the NHTSA means that the vehicle performed well in protecting passengers in all of these tests. Only 10 cars on sale today get both a 5-star rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS. Here they are, in alphabetical order.

1. 2020 Audi A6

Audi’s mid-size luxury sedan comes with numerous active safety technologies that can warn, automatically brake, and initiate preventative steering to avoid a collision.

There are three different Audi Pre Sense systems, too, each designed to prepare the car and its occupants for a collision before it happens. Add sophisticated headlight technology, semi-autonomous driving aids, and unique features that can prevent crashes if the driver falls asleep, suffers a medical emergency, or makes an unwise left turn across traffic, and it’s no wonder the A6 is one of the safest cars you can buy. And if a collision does occur, the A6 does a great job of protecting you and your passengers. Furthermore, after the crash, Audi Connect services can notify authorities and help first responders get to the scene fast.

Photo by Audi

2. 2020 Genesis G80

Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury brand, and the G80 is the car formerly known as the Hyundai Genesis. It’s a mid-size sedan offering a compelling value equation compared to the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. And in addition to being reliable, it is exceptionally safe.

Every 2020 Genesis G80 comes with a slew of standard safety features, such as a forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert, and a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist. A driver monitoring system is also aboard, issuing an alert when it detects a drowsy or a distracted driver. A free three-year trial of Genesis Connected Services is also standard, supplying features such as automatic collision notification. And a set of full-LED headlights that bend to help you see around curves is an option.

Photo by Genesis

3. 2020 Honda Insight

Based on the Honda Civic, the 2020 Honda Insight is an affordable compact sedan that gets up to 55 mpg in the city. In addition to being easy on your wallet, it’s a rolling life preserver, earning the highest marks for protection in a collision.

To prevent one from occurring in the first place, Honda Sensing is standard. This collection of technologies includes a forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, a lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. It also features something called Road Departure Mitigation, which aims to keep you on the pavement and out of the dirt. The only important safety feature that doesn’t come with the base LX trim level is blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert, while even the pricier EX and Touring trim levels instead have a passenger-side blind-spot camera (though that will change for the 2021 Insight). Also, the only HondaLink services plan with automatic collision notification is exclusive to the most expensive Touring.

Photo by Honda

4. 2020 Lexus ES

The most popular of Lexus sedans, the ES is also the safest based on IIHS and NHTSA ratings. Standard equipment includes the Lexus Safety System 2.0, a sophisticated suite of driving assistance systems that includes adaptive cruise control, a forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, automatic high beams, and pedestrian and cyclist detection. The pedestrian detection system even works in low-light situations, such as during dawn and dusk. Lane Tracing Assist — a lane-centering system that helps a driver during long highway drives — is also standard. 

Safety Connect is a connected service providing access to automatic collision notification and SOS emergency calling. It’s free for the first three years of ownership. Strangely, though, even on the top Ultra Luxury trim level, you have to pay extra for a blind-spot monitoring system with a rear cross-traffic alert. At Lexus prices, it really should be on the standard equipment list.

Photo by Lexus

5. 2020 Mazda Mazda3

Redesigned for 2019 and named World Car Design of the Year by a panel of global automotive journalists, the Mazda Mazda3 is the company’s compact sedan and hatchback. And for 2020, it’s safer than ever.

That’s because Mazda makes its i-ActiveSense suite of driving aids standard on every Mazda3 sedan. It includes driver attention alert, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, automatic emergency braking, and a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist. The Mazda3 hatchback further includes standard blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. That’s pretty remarkable in the compact car category and makes you wonder why some of the more expensive vehicles on this list make you pay extra for any of these important features. Plus, a subscription to Mazda Connected Services is free for the first three years of ownership, and it includes automatic 911 to assist in getting help as soon as is possible following a collision.

Photo by Mazda

6. 2020 Mazda Mazda6

Moving up a rung from the Mazda3, the 2020 Mazda Mazda6 is a mid-size family sedan. Impressively, every Mazda6 comes standard with a full array of i-ActiveSense safety features, including adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, a forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert.

Extra-cost safety upgrades include an adaptive front-lighting system with headlamps that swivel in the direction you’re turning, plus a 360-degree view monitor with front and rear parking sensors. Unfortunately, Mazda Connected Services are not offered for this car, as it uses an older infotainment system than the newer, smaller Mazda3.

Photo by Mazda

7. 2020 Nissan Maxima

Sometimes called a "four-door sports car," the 2020 Nissan Maxima is a dramatically styled sports sedan that is also quite safe. And it comes with key technologies designed to help you avoid an accident in the first place.

For the 2020 model year, Nissan adds what it calls Safety Shield 360 technology to every Maxima. That means the car comes standard with a drowsy driver alert, a forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic front and rear emergency braking, a lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert. NissanConnect Services is also available for the Maxima, and through an active subscription, it provides automatic collision notification and SOS emergency calling. These features are free for the first six months but cost extra afterward. 

Photo by Nissan

8. 2020 Subaru Legacy

Subaru redesigned the Legacy for 2020, putting this mid-size sedan on a new platform that is significantly safer than before — and the Legacy was already a crash-test rock star in years prior.

Additionally, every 2020 Subaru Legacy comes standard with EyeSight, a collection of camera-based driving aids that helps to prevent a collision from happening in the first place. EyeSight is improved this year, adding a lane centering function that works in both traffic and open highway driving situations. Another new safety feature for the 2020 Legacy is DriverFocus, which uses facial recognition technology to tell when a driver is drowsy or distracted. The new Legacy also comes with StarLink Safety and Security connected services that include automatic collision notification and SOS emergency calling for three years at no added cost. This, in combination with the Legacy’s generous list of standard safety technologies, make this an exceptionally safe car.

Photo by Subaru

9. 2020 Tesla Model 3

Tesla’s popular Model 3, an electric car that outsold every gasoline-fueled competitor in 2019, is more than just a phenomenon. It’s also incredibly safe. Every Tesla Model 3 includes standard AutoPilot, which is grossly misunderstood by the public and even owners of the car who ought to know better. AutoPilot is not a self-driving technology. It is a collection of driving assistance systems is in line with technology that many other automakers offer, and it requires constant driver engagement to work properly. Unless, that is, you’re interested in testing the Model 3’s crashworthiness first-hand.

You can, however, fork over an additional $7,000 for an option Tesla calls Full Self-Driving Capability. This software upgrade allows for autonomous driving in certain situations, but the driver still needs to pay attention. Even when the upcoming Autosteer function for city streets becomes available, driver vigilance will be a requirement.

Photo by Tesla

10. 2020 Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry may be ubiquitous on American roads, but there’s a good reason for that. Not only does it boast stellar crash-test scores, but it also has a robust list of standard safety features.

Grouped together under the Toyota Safety Sense banner, this collection of technologies includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, a lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. Blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert and rear automatic braking are available through option packages for certain trim levels. Another standard feature is Safety Connect. This connected service is free for the first year of ownership and provides automatic collision notification, SOS emergency calling, and more.

Photo by Toyota