Tesla Model Y, Volvo XC90 Plug-In Hybrid Earn Top Safety Pick+ Awards in Crash Testing

Though the criteria for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s highest honor are more strict, both the 2025 Tesla Model Y and Volvo XC90 Plug-in Hybrid SUVs hold onto their positions with top IIHS rankings and have earned the agency’s highest honor, Top Safety Pick+. Model-year 2025 examples of the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Jeep Wrangler, however, missed out on earning either Top Safety Pick+ or the lesser Top Safety Pick award from the agency due to their crash-test results.

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Stricter Requirements

The fresh challenge is from IIHS’ updated moderate overlap front crash test, which mimics an offset head-on collision between two vehicles traveling slightly slower than 40 mph. Previously, the test was conducted with a single dummy in the vehicle representing an average-size male in the driver’s seat; in the updated test, that occupant is joined by a smaller dummy representing a 12-year-old child or small woman in the seat behind the driver.

This test has highlighted the difference between front- and rear-seat safety in frontal crashes, with airbags and seat belts offering substantial protection for the driver and front passenger but less focus on the rear seat, resulting in a higher probability of injury for backseat occupants even though they’re farther from the collision. That distance from the collision means that increasing safety in the backseat is relatively simple, though, as illustrated by the Volvo XC90’s Plus award. Note, however, that it applies only to vehicles built after December 2024, when Volvo made running changes to the SUV’s rear seat-belt load limiters.

Between the Model Y and the XC90 Plug-in Hybrid, the Tesla is unofficially more “plus,” as its crash-avoidance system earned a rating of good in the pedestrian-avoidance test while the Volvo squeaked by with an acceptable rating.

Colorado, Canyon and Wrangler Fail to Qualify

In the same smash-up session, IIHS evaluated model-year 2025 examples of the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Jeep Wrangler, all of which failed to qualify for either award. The Colorado earned a marginal score in the moderate overlap front crash test, with the rear-seat dummy indicating a high risk of injury to the chest and neck. And while one of its available headlights scored a good rating, the other ranked poor. IIHS notes that it did not conduct its full suite of tests on the mechanically similar Canyon; while the Chevy’s crash-test score would likely transfer, the two trucks’ different headlights might net better results for the GMC.

The Wrangler performed best in the moderate overlap test, earning a rating of good, but its scores in the small overlap crash test and headlight evaluation kept it out of contention for a Top Safety Pick.

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How Are Cars Scored in IIHS Testing?

IIHS rates vehicle performance on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal or poor. To qualify as either a Top Safety Pick or a Top Safety Pick+, vehicles must score a good in the small overlap front crash (which mimics a vehicle leaving the road and striking a tree or utility pole) and side impact tests, as well as an acceptable rating in the moderate overlap front test. Acceptable scores in evaluations of a vehicle’s headlights and front crash prevention systems are also required for either award. The difference between a Top Safety Pick and a Top Safety Pick+ is that the latter requires a good rating in the moderate overlap test.

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