The Safest SUVs for 2025 and 2026

Safety for the driver, occupants and pedestrians are often top of mind for shoppers looking for an SUV or crossover. Luckily, buyers have plenty of choice nowadays, as vehicles of all sizes have collision prevention technology, active driving aids, and a variety of airbags.

These are some of the safest SUVs in each class, and they just happen to be some of the best vehicles we've tested. Some are cheap and cheerful, and some are expensive and spacious. But no matter what, each one will help get you and your passengers around with peace of mind thanks to high safety ratings from the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). That said, it is important to note that there is no such thing as a vehicle that will keep you and your passengers fully safe in every scenario. Several factors in a car crash — ranging from speed to vehicle weights to the impact angle — can affect the damage caused to the vehicle and its passengers. But choosing a vehicle that has scored well in these tests should leave you assured it has been rigorously tested to perform its best in an accident.

All prices below include the manufacturer's destination charge.

Jump to: Safest extra-small SUVs | Safest small SUVs | Safest midsize SUVs | Safest large SUVs

Safest extra-small SUVs

2025 Mazda CX-30

The 2025 Mazda CX-30 punches above its subcompact crossover class with sharp styling, standard all-wheel drive and two appealing engine options. It also ranks well in terms of safety, earning NHTSA's five-star overall safety score and achieving the coveted Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS. It scores the institute's highest award — beyond good crashworthiness scores in all of the IIHS tests, it avoided a collision with a pedestrian dummy in a variety of situations. Its impressive safety ratings only add to the CX-30's appeal as a stylish, practical small SUV.

• Base price: $26,690
• NHTSA overall rating: Five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

Shop all Mazda CX-30 SUVs for sale
Read our 2025 Mazda CX-30 review

2026 Honda HR-V

The Honda HR-V is one of the more practical, spacious compact crossovers out there thanks to an articulated, flat-folding rear seat that carves out 55.1 cubic feet. In addition to the versatility, it's also a very safe SUV for both passengers and pedestrians, earning a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS and a five-star rating from NHTSA. In the IIHS testing, the HR-V avoided a collision with pedestrians in all but one test, and even then it reduced the impact speed to just 1 mph.

• Base price: $27,650
• NHSTA overall rating: Five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

Shop all Honda HR-Vs for sale
Read our 2026 Honda HR-V review

2025 BMW X1

The 2025 BMW X1 has standard all-wheel drive, a spacious cabin and two powertrain options. The base xDrive28i gets a class-competitive 241 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbo-four, while the X1 M35 gets a tuned-up version of the same engine for a heady 312 ponies. Both get a tech-centered cabin, with a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.7-inch touchscreen display running the sophisticated iDrive 9 infotainment system. And lest we forget, the X1 is also a safe compact SUV, achieving an overall four-star rating from NHTSA. The 2024 model was named a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS. The X1 is no longer on the list since it hasn't been tested under the new criteria.

• Base price: $43,975
• NHTSA overall rating: Four stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick (2024)

Shop all BMW X1 SUVs for sale
Read our 2025 BMW X1 review

Safest small SUVs

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

VW’s best-selling car in the U.S. is new for 2025 and has meaningful updates inside and out. Most notable is the cabin, which has nicer materials and expansive screens running Volkswagen's updated MIB4 infotainment. Volkswagen's full suite of safety systems, including blind-spot warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking, is standard on all Tiguans. The Tiguan hasn't yet been tested by either the NHTSA or the IIHS, but the previous-generation 2024 model had a four-star safety rating from the government.

• Base price: $31,670
• NHTSA overall rating: Four stars (2024)
• IIHS rating: not yet rated

Shop all Volkswagen Tiguans for sale
Read our 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan review

2025 Hyundai Tucson 

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson has more safety features than before, which helped it earn a five-star rating from the NHTSA and an IIHS Top Safety Pick+. For starters, Hyundai's Smart Cruise Control 2 is now standard on all models, along with an in-cabin driver monitoring system and blind-spot collision warning. The Tucson remains one of our favorite crossover SUVs, and hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are also available.  

• Base price: $30,200
• NHTSA overall rating: Five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

Shop all Hyundai Tucsons for sale
Read our 2025 Hyundai Tucson review

2026 Genesis GV70

Hot off a refresh for 2026, the Genesis GV70 remains one of our favorite luxury SUVs. Changes for the new year include slightly revised styling and more standard technology, but the GV70's excellent blend of comfort and performance remain. And although the 2026 model hasn't been crash-tested yet, we presume it'll still score the same five stars from the federal government and achieve IIHS Top Safety Pick+ status once again, as did the 2025 model. Despite newer competition from BMW, we still liked the GV70 enough to give it the nod in a comparison with the redesigned 2026 X3.

• Base price: $50,480
• NHTSA overall rating: Five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+ (2025)

Shop all Genesis GV70s for sale
Read our 2026 Genesis GV70 review

Safest midsize SUVs

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Hyundai Santa Fe is one seriously appealing midsize crossover, with the buyer's choice of hybrid or turbo-four powertrains, plus a standard third row and a rugged XRT trim level that can handle some challenging trails. The Santa Fe is also comprehensively equipped for safety and collision prevention, with excellent crashworthiness ratings that befit its IIHS Top Safety Pick+ status.

• Base price: $35,795
• NHTSA overall rating: Four stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

Shop all Hyundai Santa Fes for sale
Read our 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe review

2025 Subaru Forester

Despite a comprehensive 2025 redesign, the Subaru Forester doesn’t stray too far from its forebears' successful formula. It remains practical and versatile, and the Forester has an updated body structure for a more compliant ride. Its driver assist tech was also enhanced, and Subaru says its systems are better at detecting objects, which helped earn the 2025 Forester a NHTSA five-star rating. It achieves Top Safety Pick status with the IIHS, missing out on the coveted "plus" by achieving an "acceptable" — but not a "good" — score on the moderate overlap crash test. The same plaudits apply to the first-ever hybridized Forester, which gets an impressive 35 mpg combined.

• Base price: $31,415
• NHTSA overall rating: Five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick

Shop all Subaru Foresters for sale
Read our 2025 Subaru Forester review

2026 Lincoln Nautilus

Unlike some luxury brands, Lincoln includes a full suite of active safety and convenience tech on the 2026 Nautilus as standard, including blind-spot collision prevention, pedestrian detection, active speed limit assistance, and even BlueCruise hands-free highway driving assistance. The 2025 Nautilus earned perfect crashworthiness and collision prevention scores from the IIHS, garnering a Top Safety Pick+ award. We see no reason why the unchanged 2026 model won't repeat the feat.

• Base price: $55,990
• NHTSA overall rating: Five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+ (2025)

Shop all Lincoln Nautilus SUVs for sale
Read our 2026 Lincoln Nautilus review

Safest large SUVs

2026 Nissan Armada

Redesigned for the 2025 model year, the Nissan Armada is leaps and bounds better than the model it replaces, and that includes its safety rating. Although not yet evaluated by the federal government, the 2025 Armada (and the unchanged 2026 model) is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, meaning it has good crashworthiness scores and comes standard with technology that can help drivers avoid accidents altogether. With 20.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third-row seat, the Armada isn't quite as capacious as the 22.9-cubic-foot Ford Expedition or the 25.5-cubic-foot Chevy Tahoe, but neither of those SUVs is rated as highly for safety. 

• Base price: $61,030
• NHTSA overall rating: not rated
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

Shop all Nissan Armadas for sale
Read our 2026 Nissan Armada review

2025 Rivian R1S

Despite its smallish exterior dimensions, the Rivian R1S is a deceptively spacious SUV. And thanks to excellent crash scores in IIHS testing — even acing the nonprofit's challenging rear-occupant safety test — it's also a Top Safety Pick+. It's also an electric SUV to boot, with a spacious front trunk and up to 410 miles of EPA-estimated range. 

• Base price: $76,990
• NHTSA overall rating: not yet rated
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

Shop all Rivian R1S SUVs for sale
Read our 2025 Rivian R1S review