The new 2024 Mazda CX-90 Plug-in Hybrid is earning the highest safety accolade from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The midsize SUV was recently being named an IIHS 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK+ following a round of crash tests.
To qualify for the 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, vehicles need good ratings in the small overlap front and updated side tests as well as an acceptable or good rating in the updated moderate overlap front test, which now emphasizes back seat safety. Additionally, an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention evaluation is required, and all trims must come with acceptable- or good-rated headlights.
The IIHS says the CX-90 PHEV earns a good rating in the updated moderate overlap front test, the differentiator between the lower-tier TOP SAFETY PICK award and higher-tier TOP SAFETY PICK+. The IIHS says the structure of the vehicle held up well, and measures taken from the driver and rear passenger dummies didn’t indicate any heightened injury risks.
Mazda says with the announcement, it now has more IIHS 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards than any other brand (as of June 2024).
“Mazda is proud of our research and development teams who work tirelessly to continually improve our crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies to meet and exceed increasingly rigorous testing standards set by IIHS,” said Mazda North American Operations President and CEO Tom Donnelly. “We are extremely proud to add the 2024 CX-90 PHEV to Mazda’s list of 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award winners."
The 2024 Mazda3 Sedan, Mazda3 Hatchback, CX-30, CX-50 (built after August 2024) and CX-90 all earned the 2024 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award earlier this year.
Photo Credit: IIHS.