14 Electric Vehicles That Landed On The IIHS Top Safety Picks List In 2024

Summary

• High safety standards are a top priority for electric vehicles like the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Genesis G80 Electric, and Audi Q4 E-Tron.
• These EVs have excellent crashworthiness ratings across the board, making them as safe as traditional ICE vehicles.
• With advanced safety features like lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring, EVs are ushering in a safer future of driving.

Safety is always a top concern when it comes to buying a new car. Consumers are always looking for the best and most up-to-date safety features to ensure they and their loved ones will be okay should they ever get into a crash. When it comes to electric vehicles, safety can sometimes seem like an afterthought. Range, price, power, and charge times have all become the focus of discussion for EVs. Thoughts of crumple zones and crash prevention technology can slip by the wayside with all of these other important things in mind.

Fortunately, makers of these electric vehicles are not forgetting about safety. Of course, consumers can also rest easy that electric vehicles are held to the same standards and requirements as all other cars as well. EVs are just as safe as their ICE counterparts, if not arguably safer. As EVs attempt to usher in the future of driving, they will often have the most up-to-date safety technology in token. Here are all the electric vehicles on the International Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick list. We’ve done the work here and put them all in one place, so you don’t have to go digging around the IIHS website looking for the EVs.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from the 2024 IIHS Top Safety Pick List.

1 Hyundai Ioniq 6

Hyundai is a leader in electrification with some of the best affordable models in the market. Fortunately for their owners, these models are also among the safest EVs. The Ioniq 6, a sleek and comfortable sedan, comes in as a Top Safety Pick+ in 2024. It is the only electric winner in the mid-sized category.

Hyundai’s Flagship Electric Sedan Is Among The Safest

As one would imagine, a Top Safety Pick+ goes above and beyond for safety quality. Here are the safety rankings for the Ioniq 6. The IIHS uses a standard of good, acceptable, marginal, and poor to describe safety in individual parts of the vehicle.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

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Seat Belts And Child Restraints

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The Ioniq 6 also has standard lane departure warning and prevention, as well as standard blind spot monitoring. These extra standard features help push it into Top Safety Pick+ status.

2 Genesis Electrified G80

Genesis is the luxury brand under the Hyundai Motor Group umbrella. The G80 is its tentpole big luxury sedan, and it comes in an electric version. The G80 is surprisingly (or unsurprisingly to those who know Hyundai and Genesis’ quality when it comes to luxury cars) one of the best pound-for-pound luxury sedans available today. The fact that it can be bought in an electrified version is even better for those a little more eco-conscious.

The Electrified Luxury Liner Is A Top Safety Pick+

The G80 is the only large luxury car to earn a Top Safety Pick+ Award. Not even its ICE brother can say the same. Here are the ratings from IIHS.

Crashworthiness

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Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

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Seat Belts And Child Restraints

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The G80 Electric is among the most crash-resistant vehicles in the world. You can rest easy knowing you and your loved ones will likely walk away from any highway accident in one of these cars.

3 Hyundai Ioniq 5

Yet another Hyundai product is on the list. The Ioniq 5 is among the best budget electric SUVs in terms of features and quality. It is also among the best in safety. It’s one of two small electric SUVs to earn a Top Safety Pick.

Hyundai Is Dedicated To Safety

As the third Hyundai Motor Group product on our list, a clear pattern has emerged. The Hyundai and Genesis brands have a dedication to safety standards that most electric automakers cannot match. Here are the IIHS ratings for the Ioniq 5.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Once again, the Hyundai Motor Group produces another incredibly crash-resistant EV. The modern, affordable Ioniq SUV is also one of the safest cars on the road. Bravo to Hyundai.

4 Subaru Solterra

Shocking no one, the only Subaru EV lands on the Top Safety Pick list. Subaru is widely regarded for its safety standards, routinely scoring top marks with safety organizations across many of its different models. It appears this will not change in the electrified future.

As Always, Subaru Is Among The Safest brands

Along with the aforementioned Ioniq 5, the Solterra is the only other electric small SUV that earned a Top Safety Pick rating. What’s a little odd about this, is that the ToyotabZ4X is a very similar build, but it did not get the same honor. This most likely means Subaru put its classic touches of safety engineering into the Solterra to ensure it is a place to keep consumers safe on the roads. Here are the IIHS figures.

Crashworthiness

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Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

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While it’s not surprising the Solterra got Top Safety Pick honors, it is a little surprising it wasn’t a Top Safety Pick Plus, with very few flaws called out in its safety measures, and good scores across the board. Maybe the IIHS started giving someone else a turn, like when the NBA Awards voters got bored with giving LeBron the MVP.

5 Nissan Ariya

Nissan sneaks onto the IIHS list, this time with its electric SUV, the Ariya. The Ariya is Nissan’s second modern EV after the stalwart Leaf. It’s a classic SUV with good size and space for the family and dogs, and safety to match.

Nissan Has Two Top Safety Picks, One Is Electric

Nissan is not a brand known for its safety, but it was able to step its game up when making its first electric SUV. The only other Nissan that made the list was the Pathfinder, another mid-size SUV. Here are the IIHS ratings for the Ariya.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

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The Ariya is especially nice for families, since its anchoring system for car seats gets a Good+. When Nissan wants to, it can make a very well-rounded SUV like it did with the Ariya.

6 Audi Q4 E-Tron

Audi joins the fray with its mid-sized electric SUV offering, the Q4 e-tron. A slight size downgrade from the former mononym e-tron, it also comes with a safety upgrade. Audi’s electric naming conventions may be confusing, but the quality here is not.

Audi Has Always Been Among The Safest Luxury Brands

As one of the first brands to introduce four-wheel drive to the masses, Audi has always helped push safety along for the people. Its electric offerings appear to be no different. It is worth pointing out that the Q4 e-tron shares its safety rating with the Volkswagen ID.4, as they share the same platform and frame.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

The Q4 e-tron has extremely strong crash scores. Ironically, its headlights are worse on the more expensive trim in terms of safety rating. TopSpeed top tip: cheaper is safer, at least when it comes to the Q4 e-tron.

7 Genesis Electrified GV70

Here we have yet another Genesis vehicle. The beautiful and sporty Electrified GV70 is also a safe option. Both the electric and ICE versions have Top Safety Pick status.

Hyundai Motor Group Continues Its Safety Mission

The fourth Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) EV on this list really should inspire some confidence in the brands under that name. In fact, HMG has the most Top Safety picks of any company with 16 total between ICEs and EVs. Here’s how the IIHS rated the GV70 Electric.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

It’s clear that if you want a safe EV, you look at Hyundai or Genesis. No brand is showing out for safety like these two are. Really all that’s left is for Kia to join its siblings from HMG here.

8 Tesla Model Y

Tesla is not exactly known for its safety or reliability. However, it’s gotten a win here on that front in the form of the Model Y. The mid-size luxury SUV is a Top Safety Pick+ . The Model Y is among the safest cars on the road according to the IIHS. Tesla’s dedication to technology and efficiency appears to be finally paying off here. This is how the IIHS rates the Model Y.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

The only place Tesla didn’t nail its safety standards here is the anchoring system for child seats. A concern for parents (though “acceptable” is better than the minimum standard of “marginal”) but for consumers without kids, this is something that can pretty much be ignored. Good job Tesla, which is something that isn’t usually said outside of earnings meetings.

9 Audi Q4 E-Tron Sportback

The Q4 e-tron is back. This time with the Sportback version. The sleeker, trimmer version is a bit pricier than the base model, but hey, your SUV has a chopped-off rear that gives you less storage space. That’s appealing, right? We’re not entirely sure what the point of Sportback SUVs is, but we know this one is also safe.

The Sportback Is Just As Safe As Its Brother

Again, like the Q4 e-tron, these safety standards are based on the Volkswagen ID.4. It has identical safety figures to its non-Sportback companion, and here there are.

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Not much new to see here, but the Sportback is safe. This is a good thing for those who buy it, because we have to imagine they’ll overdo the “Sport” part of that offering.

10 Tesla Model Y AWD

The Model Y AWD has been listed separately by the IIHS, so we’ve gone ahead and done the same. Usually, AWD means safer, but curiously, in this case, it actually does not. While the AWD is a Top Safety Pick, it is not a Top Safety Pick+ like its nearly identical twin. Here’s what the IIHS sees as different between the two to give the AWD that slightly lower rating.

Crashworthiness

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Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

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The AWD Model Y does not have a LATCH system to anchor child seats, which bumps it down to the lower tier of a simple Top Safety Pick. As we mentioned before, this is not particularly relevant to people without children. However, while the IIHS only rates crash safety, we think the AWD will make the Model Y safer on the road. Ultimately, weighing that trade off is up to the consumer.

11 Audi Q8 E-Tron

The Q8 e-tron is Audi’s largest electric offering. A big comfy SUV ready to take the kids to soccer practice, or the dogs to the park, it rolls across the roads like an electric Panzer. Fortunately, it’s almost as safe as the tank.

The Big Electric Audi Is Safe Too

The Q8 e-tron is one of three large electric SUVs to make the IIHS list. In fact, Audi has three of the four large SUVs in the Top Safety Pick category, and electric SUVs outnumber ICE ones in the category three to one. Here’s what the IIHS has to say.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Once again the higher trim level bizarrely has a worse rating for headlights. It appears the low beams create glare in the Prestige trim, but not in the Premium trims. Who would have thought?

12 Rivian R1S

Rivian has shot onto the scene as the last word in electrified luxury SUVs. The R1S is essentially the electric answer to what the Range Rover has been for the last thirty or more years. An SUV with extreme off-roading abilities, but also extreme luxury in the cabin. Rivian has not skimped on safety either.

Rivian Has A Dedication To Safety Standards

Rivian has managed to be the only non-Audi brand to get a Top Safety Pick in the large SUV category. Here’s what the IIHS thinks of its safety standards.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

The R1S has some minor issues with the rear seats in crashes, the seatbelts adjust in a fashion that could cause some abdominal injuries. The seatbelt reminder warning is also virtually useless. It takes a long time to come on, only lasts eight seconds, and has no visual indicator. However, besides that glaring seatbelt warning problem, the R1S is overall a very safe car.

13 Audi Q8 E-Tron Sportback

Audi has a double winner yet again. The Q8 e-tron Sportback is here with a Top Safety Pick for the large SUV category. The large Sportback makes even less sense than the smaller one to us, but apparently, these things must sell, or Audi wouldn’t make them five years running.

Much Like Its Little Brother, The Sportback And Standard Versions Both Make The List

Again, the Sportback has identical safety standards to its non-Sportback twin. Here’s that IIHS report again for you.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Remember, if you want good headlights, do not spring for the Prestige package. Somehow Audi has managed to give you less for more money here.

14 Rivian R1T

The R1T is another marvel from Rivian. It is everything the Cybertruck wants to be, without any gimmicks or silliness. It is a good-looking, rugged, dependable, and capable pickup. It has long-range, towing ability and can even climb 100% grades. On top of all of this, the R1T is safe.

Rivian’s Truck Is A Top Pick Too

The R1T is the only electric pickup truck on the 2024 IIHS Top Safety List. It’s even safer than its SUV counterpart in fact. Here’s what the IIHS has to say.

Crashworthiness

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Crash Avoidance And Mitigation

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

Seat Belts And Child Restraints

(Data was collected from the IIHS)

While pickups seem more dangerous than SUVs, at Rivian it is the opposite. The R1T is a safer place for passengers in the back, and while it doesn’t have a seatbelt reminder, at least that doesn’t negatively impact its overall score. Frankly, we’re not sure why it wasn’t a Top Safety Pick+, because it has better stats than the ToyotaTundra, the only other truck in the same category.

With all these Top Safety Picks, one thing is clear. EVs are here, and they can directly compete with ICEs. They have the range, technology and safety that make them viable options in almost every way compared to the traditional cars on the road.