The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica just earned the IIHS’ highest crash-testing accolade

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is continuing to grow its list of vehicles earning its highest accolades. Throughout the months of October and November, IIHS has honoured several vehicles with its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards.

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The coveted titles are given to qualifiers that meet six IIHS “crashworthiness evaluations” and come with a standard front crash prevention system. In order to gain the higher of the two awards (the one with the “+”), the vehicle must have Good or Acceptable headlights as standard across all trim levels of the model.

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The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica just earned the IIHS’ highest crash-testing accolade Back to video

Many vehicles — including many 2022 models — have been put to the test, coming out with one of the coveted awards.

2021 Chrysler Pacifica – Top Safety Pick+

The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica — specifically vehicles built after September 2021 — earns the highest award from the IIHS. The minivan saw several changes make it eligible to receive this award. Previously, the headlights earned a Poor rating, due to excessive glare, but it’s now equipped with acceptable headlights and a modified front crash prevention system that earns a Superior rating in the vehicle-to-vehicle test, as well as an Advanced rating in the vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluation.

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2022 BMW X5 – Top Safety Pick

The X5, BMW’s midsize luxury SUV, earns the Top Safety Pick award, but only when equipped with specific headlights. The standard and optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention systems both earn superior ratings, and the standard vehicle-to-pedestrian system earns a superior rating. The Executive trim’s headlights, as well as the optional Laser Light package, earn a Good rating, but the X5 misses out of the top-tier award due to a Poor rating for the base headlights.

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz – Top Safety Pick

Hyundai’s small pickup, the Santa Cruz, earns the Top Safety Pick award when equipped with specific headlights. The standard and optional front crash prevention systems earn Superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations, and the LED projector headlights on the SEL Premium and Limited trims earned the pickup a Good rating. However, due to the halogens on the base trim, Hyundai’s first North American missed out on the top award.

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2022 Lexus ES – Top Safety Pick+

Lexus’ midsize luxury car, the ES, picked up the highest award from IIHS. Its redesigned headlight systems for the 2022 model year earned Good ratings. It also earned Superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation of its standard front crash prevention system, not to mention an Advanced rating in the vehicle-to-pedestrian test.

2021 Ford F-150 – Top Safety Pick

Following a few improvements to the headlights systems, the Ford F-150 crew cab and extended cab have earned the lower-tier award from IIHS. The two versions of the pickup join the Ram 1500 as the only large pickups to receive the award in 2021. The 2020 models fell short of the award due to Poor ratings on all available headlight systems, while the 2021 models (built after June 2021) now have good or acceptable headlights at some trim levels. The F-150 falls short of the highest award due to base halogens included with certain trims.

2022 Genesis G70 and GV70 – Top Safety Pick+

Both Genesis’ large sedan, the G70 (well, those built after June 2021), and midsize luxury SUV, the GV70, have standard Good-rated headlights and standard front crash prevention systems that earn Superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation, as well as Advanced ratings in the vehicle-to-pedestrian test.