The Manufacturers Saving More Lives In 2025

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Acing your crash tests is a process of constant improvement. A car or SUV that scored a Top Safety Pick+ award and a perfect overall rating with the IIHS ten years ago might earn a string of Marginal ratings today, simply because it’s out of date. It’s a consistent push-and-pull as the IIHS tightens its criteria for automakers to earn the top score in any given test, and automakers take steps to meet those new goals.

2025 Genesis GV80

Engine: 2.5L Turbo Inline-4 | 3.5-liter Twin-Turbo V6
Horsepower: 300 hp (I4) | 375 hp (V6)
Torque: 311 lb-ft (I4) | 391 lb-ft (V6)
Transmission: Eight-Speed Automatic
Drivetrain: AWD
Fuel Economy: 19/24/21 mpg (I4) | 16/22/19 mpg (V6)
Base MSRP: $58,700
Towing Capacity: 6,000 lbs

Front-collision avoidance has been the IIHS’ key issue for the last few years, owing in large part to the increasing weight of the average vehicle, thanks to the prevalence of hybrids and EVs, like the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T, both of which can weigh over three tons in their heaviest configurations. But as it turns out, the higher the IIHS sets the bar, the higher automakers will jump to clear it.

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The following is based primarily on a report from the IIHS, with any conclusions or opinions provided thereupon being those of the author.

How The IIHS Has Been Pushing For Improved Collision Avoidance

The latest push for more sophisticated forward-collision avoidance technology began at the end of 2022. The IIHS noted that every single car it was subjecting to its test passed with flying colors, earning a Superior rating. In other words: the automotive industry caught up to the criteria set forth by the Institute. What had once been the gold medal in advanced driver-assistance ratings had been reduced to, essentially, a participation trophy.

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In response, the non-profit went about redesigning its testing system. Rather than simply testing a car’s ability to detect another vehicle in the middle of the lane, cars would now be tasked with spotting motorcycles and semitrailers, and pedestrian tests were expanded to include a broad range of scenarios with nighttime, daytime, high-beam, and low-beam tests, against dummies of various shapes and sizes and in multiple positions along the road.

So, now that this new testing system has been in place for a couple years, how are automakers doing?

Automakers Are Improving By Leaps And Bounds

Earning a Good rating in the new forward-collision test means delivering a timely warning and coming to a complete stop in the passenger-car trials. Of 30 cars tested in the IIHS’ latest rounds, 22 earned a Good or Acceptable rating. This is a major improvement for the last year alone, as, back in April 2024, only three of ten small SUVs tested passed at an Acceptable or better rating.

The Most Improved SUV For The 2025 Model Year

The 2025 Genesis GV80 may be the best example of a vehicle that has shown some serious improvement over the last few years as the IIHS has updated their crash test rating systems.

Model Year	2023	2024	2025
Front Crash Prevention Rating	Superior	Acceptable	Good

The GV80 earned a Superior rating for the 2023 model in 2022. This was downgraded to an Acceptable with the introduction of the new rating system the next year, owing to a few collision-avoidance tests where the SUV came up short of a perfect score.

The 2024 GV80 was only able to reduce its speed by 19 mph in the 37 mph nighttime parallel adult test with low beams engaged.
With high beams engaged, the 2024 GV80 reduced its speed by 24 mph in the same test.

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When the vehicle-to-vehicle tests were updated for 2024, the GV80 avoided a collision in every single test but one, being the 43 mph off-center motorcycle test, where it did manage to issue a warning and reduce its speed by an impressive 41 mph. Given that motorcycle accidents seem to be the key point that most collision avoidance systems struggle with, this puts the GV80 at the head of the pack. The GV80’s collision-avoidance system saw significant improvements, as well, resulting in the overall Good rating for the 2025 model year. Comparing the same tests that cost the SUV a perfect score the year prior:

The 2025 GV80 was able to reduce its speed by 34 mph in the 37 mph nighttime parallel adult test with low beams engaged.
With high beams engaged, the 2025 GV80 avoided the impact entirely in the same test.

Asia Is Leading The Way In Automotive Safety

If you’ve been following the IIHS Top Safety Awards over the last few years, you’ve likely noticed that we’re seeing fewer American and European cars on the list lately. Even Volvo, once considered the world leader in safety, scored only a single win in 2024, being a Top Safety Pick+ for the XC90.

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As we explored when highlighting this anomaly, this has a lot to do with these new forward-collision avoidance tests. In some instances, safety features that come standard in a Kia might be withheld as upsells to a higher trim in a Jeep. It’s worth noting that mostly luxury cars like the Cadillac Lyriq and the BMW X5 are acing the latest front-collision avoidance tests. But, that gap is closing, and it doesn’t fully explain the disparity, because the Chevrolet Equinox features much of the same safety tech as the Kia Sorento, for instance, but the Equinox scored a Poor overall rating in its collision avoidance test, while the Sorento scored a Good.

Technology Simply Leads The Safety Race

Ultimately, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai are simply better at developing and fine-tuning front-collision avoidance tech than most American and European automakers at the moment. According to the latest rankings from US News & World Report, South Korea and Japan currently rate as the number one and number two world leaders in technological expertise, with the US at number four, and Germany in fifth place.

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Asia’s lead in the automotive safety arms race may boil down to the simple fact that IIHS ratings have more to do with advanced technology than ever before. Scoring a solid string of Good ratings in the impact tests is almost trivial at this point. It’s getting harder and harder to find a car or SUV that isn’t dependably built to safely shield its occupants from the worst of an accident. Keeping that accident from happening in the first place, though? That’s how you score gold with the IIHS, and nobody does that better than South Korea and Japan.

Sources: US News & World Report, IIHS

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