Mazda CX-90 Joins the Safety Club

If you’re in the market for a safe SUV to keep you and your loved ones secure in case of an accident, you might want to consider the 2024 Mazda CX-90 and its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has bestowed the Top Safety Pick+ award, the most prestigious recognition a car can get, on both models.

Both the CX-90 and CX-90 PHEV earned the highest rating (“good”) in most of the IIHS crash safety and crash prevention standards, including the updated side impact test that has caused several cars to lose their Top Safety Pick+ status.

In addition, the CX-90 obtained the highest rating for the small overlap front driver-side and passenger-side crash tests, as well as the driver injury prevention measures. Both the combustion and hybrid versions also scored a superior rating for their front crash prevention (day and night) tests.

The only exception to the CX-90 and CX-90 PHEV’s excellent safety ratings is the lower “acceptable” rating earned by the headlights on lower-trim models, which is a common occurrence for cars that only offer LED headlights on top-tier models. While the CX-90 lower trims received the “acceptable” rating for headlights, the CX-90 PHEV got a “good rating” as it comes with standard and more powerful LED headlights.

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 and CX-90 PHEV are two of the latest top-performing mid-size SUVs to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award. They join a few other winners in the same category, such as the 2023 Honda Pilot, which is currently one of the safest SUVs on the market and has also passed the more rigorous IIHS tests.

Other models that have achieved the Top Safety Pick+ award this year so far include the 2023 Hyundai Palisade, the 2023 Kia Telluride (which received a slight update and price bump for the 2024 model year), the 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the 2023 Subaru Ascent, the 2023 Nissan Pathfinder, the 2023 Toyota Highlander, and the 2023 Volkswagen ID.4.

On the other hand, the 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander, the 2023 Mazda CX-9, and the 2023 Ford Explorer all received the slightly lower Top Safety Pick rating.

Photo Source: Mazda USA