From Top Safety Pick to plus: Prius collects the missing piece

© global.toyota

The 2026 Toyota Prius has successfully passed testing by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The model received the prestigious Top Safety Pick+ award, which is reserved for vehicles with the highest safety ratings.

Out of sixteen recently tested models, only two earned the title: the Hyundai Palisade and the Toyota Prius. The rest either fell short in one of the key categories or failed to meet the new, tougher IIHS standards.

The Toyota Prius scored the highest mark in all major crash tests, including small overlap and moderate overlap frontal impacts and the side test. Its pedestrian crash prevention systems and headlights also earned the required ratings.

The hybrid already held the Top Safety Pick title, but to claim the plus version it was missing one evaluation — the new vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test at higher speeds. The Prius has now cleared that test with a «good» rating. Interestingly, nothing in the car itself was changed — the missing test was simply carried out.