2021 Top Safety Picks
Vehicles that perform best in our evaluations qualify for Top Safety Pick, which has been awarded since the 2006 model year, or Top Safety Pick+, which was inaugurated in 2013.
These awards identify the best vehicle choices for safety within size categories during a given year. Larger, heavier vehicles generally afford more protection than smaller, lighter ones. Thus, a small car that qualifies for an award might not protect its occupants as well as a bigger vehicle that doesn't earn the award.
Small cars
Top Safety Pick+
2022 Honda Civic 4-door hatchback
Top Safety Pick+
2022 Honda Civic 4-door sedan
Top Safety Pick
2021 Honda Civic 4-door hatchback
with specific headlights and does not apply to Type R performance variant
Top Safety Pick
2021 Honda Civic 4-door sedan
with specific headlights
Top Safety Pick+
2021-22 Honda Insight 4-door sedan
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Hyundai Elantra 4-door sedan
with specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021 Hyundai Veloster 2-door hatchback
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021 Kia Forte 4-door sedan
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Kia Soul 4-door wagon
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick+
2021-22 Mazda 3 4-door hatchback
Top Safety Pick+
2021-22 Mazda 3 4-door sedan
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Nissan Sentra 4-door sedan
with specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Subaru Crosstrek 4-door wagon
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick+
2021-22 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid 4-door wagon
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Subaru Impreza 4-door wagon
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021 Subaru Impreza 4-door sedan
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021 Subaru WRX 4-door sedan
with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Toyota Corolla 4-door hatchback
with specific headlights
Top Safety Pick
2021-22 Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan
with specific headlights
2021 criteria
Top Safety Pick +
- G Good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests
- AdvancedSuperior Advanced or superior rating for available front crash prevention — vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations
- AGAcceptable or good headlights standard
Top Safety Pick
- G Good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests
- AdvancedSuperior Advanced or superior rating for available front crash prevention — vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations
- AGAcceptable or good headlights available