How Well Do 2025 Minivans Perform in Crash Tests?
Key Points
- Every minivan currently on sale is ineligible for a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety due to lackluster ratings in one or more of the agency’s crash and safety tests.
- The model-year 2025 minivans the agency has tested are the Chrysler Pacifica (and related Voyager), Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival, Toyota Sienna and Volkswagen ID. Buzz electric van.
- Several three-row SUVs meet the agency’s crash-test criteria to earn a Top Safety Pick award, such as model-year 2025 versions of the Buick Enclave, Ford Explorer, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-90 and Nissan Pathfinder.
For most families shopping for a vehicle, safety is a key must-have on the checklist. However, one popular family-hauling group of vehicles is coming up short when it comes to acing crash tests and qualifying for safety awards: minivans.
Related: Minivan Crash Tests: Front-Seat Safety Improves, Backseat Safety Declines
According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing, none of the six minivans currently on sale qualify for the agency’s Top Safety Pick Plus or Top Safety Pick awards due to various crash-test issues or inadequate data. The minivans that the agency has tested are the Chrysler Pacifica (and related Voyager), Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival, Toyota Sienna and the all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz.
Which Minivan Has the Best Crash-Test Scores?
- Takeaway: The Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pacifica, and Kia Carnival all came up short in the updated and tricky moderate overlap front test with marginal or poor ratings. The Chrysler Voyager and Volkswagen ID. Buzz also have some acceptable or poor scores, as well as incomplete crash-test data.
According to IIHS, all minivans have some problems, with the biggest issue being the moderate overlap front test.
“The updated moderate overlap front crash test, which focuses on how well both front- and rear-seat occupants are protected in frontal crashes, has proven challenging for this vehicle class,” said Joseph Young, IIHS director of media relations.
The test was updated in 2022 to include new metrics that focus on backseat passenger injury. Most minivans on sale for model-year 2025 have not seen any major changes since 2022 or before.
In the test, an adult male dummy sits in the driver’s seat and a smaller dummy meant to simulate a small woman or 12-year-old child sits behind the driver. In order for a vehicle to score well, IIHS said the structure of the occupant compartment must maintain adequate survival space, and measurements taken from the dummies shouldn’t show an excessive risk of injuries. For example, there can’t be an excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest or thigh for the second-row dummy. The dummy should also remain correctly positioned during the crash and not slide beneath the lap belt, as this “submarining” increases the risk of abdominal injuries. Other improper belt placements also cause injuries and lead to lower scores in the test.
Injuries were abundant, however. In the test, the Odyssey scored a rating of poor while the Sienna, Pacifica and Carnival rated marginal (the agency rates results on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal and poor). The Voyager, which is a decontented Pacifica, was not tested. The ID. Buzz earned a good rating.
According to IIHS, the Pacifica, Odyssey, Carnival and Sienna provide good protection in the front seat but have issues when it comes to second-row protection. For example, in the poor-rated Odyssey, the second-row dummy’s head and neck were subjected to high crash forces, and the rear seat belt allowed the dummy’s head to come too close to the front seatback, increasing the risk of head injuries, IIHS reported.
In the marginal-rated Sienna, IIHS report ed the rear passenger dummy’s lap belt moved from the ideal position on the pelvis onto the abdomen, increasing the risk of abdominal injuries. Note that the Sienna is unique in the segment in that it earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2024 — before vehicles had to score well in the updated moderate front overlap test to qualify for the award.
But the moderate front overlap test isn’t the only sticky spot; the vans struggle in other safety test areas, too. For example, the Odyssey, Pacifica and ID. Buzz earned merely acceptable grades in the headlight evaluation and front crash prevention pedestrian tests, while the Pacifica, Voyager and Carnival earned acceptable ratings in the side crash test.
What’s Next for Minivan Safety?
- Takeaway: In addition to lackluster crash-test scores, most minivans are also missing key crash-test data, precluding them from earning IIHS’ Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick Plus awards.
The problem isn’t just poor crash-test scores; incomplete data is also an issue. For example, the Carnival is missing some testing data, including headlight tests as well as vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian front crash prevention. In addition, the ID. Buzz’s crash-test scores are also incomplete. It scored well in the tricky moderate front overlap test, but the electric van has not been tested in the small front overlap or side impact crash tests, and it’s also missing a rating for vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention.
“This model was tested earlier this year with a group of electric vehicles in several safety tests, and we chose to issue partial ratings for this group in order to include more models rather than completing full ratings for just a couple of models,” Young said. “While we would like to return to this group and complete additional ratings in 2026, we haven’t made any firm plans to do so. If and when we’re able to complete additional testing, the ID. Buzz could potentially earn a 2026 safety award.”
Young added that some other models also may not see additional testing. “The 2025 Chrysler Voyager, which has not been tested in the updated moderate overlap test, has two other dings against it, with only an acceptable rating in the side crash test and a poor headlight rating. We don’t have any immediate plans to fill out additional ratings for that model, but it is ineligible for a safety award,” he said.
To qualify for 2025 Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the small overlap front and updated side tests and an acceptable rating in the updated moderate overlap front test. Acceptable or good headlights must come standard across all trim levels, and the vehicle must earn an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test.
To qualify for 2025 Top Safety Pick Plus, a vehicle needs a good rating in the updated moderate overlap front test instead of an acceptable rating.
What’s an Alternative for Families?
- Takeaway: Families shopping for a larger people mover may want to consider a three-row SUV instead of a minivan. Several have earned good crash-test scores from IIHS, including model-year 2025 versions of the Buick Enclave, Ford Explorer, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-90 and Nissan Pathfinder, among others.
Minivans offer an appealing blend of cargo room, people space and convenience features, but they’re not the only vehicle to check these boxes. Three-row SUVs also make great family haulers.
“Families that are searching for a larger vehicle with the best crashworthiness, crash avoidance and headlight performance may want to consider an SUV. There are quite a few options that earn 2025 Top Safety Pick awards, and a few that go above and beyond the award criteria with top marks in nearly every category,” Young said.
For example, the 2025 Kia Telluride is a Top Safety Pick Plus award winner for its good scores in all categories. The same goes for model-year 2025 versions of the Buick Enclave, Ford Explorer, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-90 and Nissan Pathfinder, among others; search SUVs by size on the IIHS website.
For 2025, Cars.com named the Hyundai Palisade our Family Car of the Year for its decent crashworthiness scores, standard safety features and how well it ferries families of all sizes, as well as child-safety seat fitment and overall excellence. Check out the finalists and nominees for this award.
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