Rivian R1S Is the Only Large SUV To Earn Top Safety Pick+ Award From IIHS

For 2023, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) introduced new stringent criteria, making getting a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award more challenging. This is part of improving safety throughout the industry by constantly raising standards. The most significant change in 2023 was the introduction of tougher side crash tests and the need to improve pedestrian crash prevention systems. The testing criteria were also updated to eliminate vehicles with subpar headlights.

Following these changes, only 48 vehicle models qualified for a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award in 2023. Although electric vehicles usually ace the crash tests, thanks to being heavier than other vehicles in their respective categories, only four received the Top Safety Pick+ award. The winners were the Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.4, Subaru Solterra, and Rivian R1T. The other Rivian model in production, the R1S, has become the fifth to earn the Tops Safety Pick+ award, making it the only large SUV in the US to get the coveted prize in 2023.

Having both models certified as among the safest in the US is no small feat, considering that Rivian is a startup that only started assembling vehicles a couple of years ago. The Rivian R1S and R1T offer buyers many reasons to choose them, but a Top Safety Pick+ award is a huge confidence booster. Especially families are more likely to consider buying a Rivian now that they have proven their safety. All R1S models built after January 2023 carry the Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS.

If you're wondering how they differ from the previously-built Rivians, the EV startup introduced new safety features in January. Among them are the standard front crash prevention system and improved headlights. The front-crash prevention system earned a Superior rating in the daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluation and an Advanced rating in the nighttime test. The new safety-assist system made a difference in the more stringent IIHS tests.

Organizations that assess vehicle safety, such as the IIHS and the NHTSA in the US or Euro NCAP in Europe, significantly contribute to making the roads safer. The crash test results and other safety-related evaluations urge carmakers to improve their vehicles and make them safer. The IIHS has rewarded the safest cars with the Top Safety Pick award since 2006 and introduced the Top Safety Pick+ award in 2013. Since then, all carmakers have been proud to have their models' safety certified with the two awards.