Category: Large SUV Rating: Top Safety Pick + (Photo of 2019 Audi e-tron is from IIHS.)
Category: Large SUV Rating: Top Safety Pick + (Photo of 2021 Audi e-tron Sportback is from IIHS.)
Category: Large SUV Rating: Top Safety Pick (Photo of 2019 Audi Q8 is from IIHS.)
Category: Small Pickup Rating: Top Safety Pick (2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz photographed in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada/Wikipedia Commons)
Category: Large Pickup/Crew Cab Pickup Rating: Top Safety Pick (Photo of 2021 Ford F-150 is from IIHS/Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.)
Category: Large Pickup/Extended Cab Pickup Rating: Top Safety Pick (Photo of 2021 Ford F-150 is from IIHS/Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.)
Category: Large Pickup/Crew Cab Pickup Rating: Top Safety Pick (Photo of 2021 Ram 1500 is from IIHS)
Although the current uptick in gas prices may eventually douse the longtime crush that drivers have had on sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the popularity of this type of automobile continues for now. In some places, sales of these vehicles have usurped those of other types of vehicles.
Consider that between 2010 and 2020, the number of SUVs operating worldwide grew by six times, according to Statista. SUVs accounted for roughly 29.6 million global car sales in 2020. Electric SUVs accounted for another 1.1 million vehicles sold.
Style, spaciousness and off-road capabilities are among the reasons drivers often opt for SUVs. But those who are squarely concerned with safety are in luck: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute recently released its list of 2022 vehicles that qualify for the IIHS “Top Safety Pick” and “Top Safety Pick+” ratings. “These awards identify the best vehicle choices for safety within size categories during a given year,” the IIHS reports.
The slideshow above illustrates the large SUVs and pickup trucks that made this year’s IIHS list of the safest vehicles on the market.
