Mazda Reaches Its 100th IIHS Top Safety Pick Award
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an independent, insurance-funded tester, says the 2026 CX-5's Top Safety Pick+ is Mazda's 100th such award since 2008 and its ninth for the 2026 model year.
WASHINGTON - Mazda has earned 100 Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety since the program began in 2008, 74 of them the Top Safety Pick+, the institute said.
The 100th came as the 2026 CX-5 received a 2026 Top Safety Pick+, IIHS said. The award is Mazda's ninth 2026 Top Safety Pick+. The company began the year leading all brands with eight and now has the most of any brand, according to the release.
The IIHS is an independent, nongovernmental safety-testing organization funded by the insurance industry. Its awards are not a federal safety rating.
To qualify for a 2026 Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front and side crash tests, along with acceptable- or good-rated headlights across all trim levels and standard front crash prevention systems that meet the institute's pedestrian and vehicle-to-vehicle criteria, IIHS said.
"As this milestone shows, Mazda has consistently demonstrated a commitment to safety and acted quickly to improve its vehicles as our award criteria have evolved," IIHS President David Harkey said in a statement.
Other 2026 Mazda models earning the Top Safety Pick+ include the Mazda3 sedan and hatchback, CX-30, CX-50, CX-70 and CX-90, the company said.
Editorial disclosure: Mazda couriered to Drive Observer a hand-built diorama of a Soul Red Crystal CX-5 frozen mid-crash-test against a felt-lined barrier, a small brass plaque at its base numbered '100,' packed in a Hiroshima paulownia-wood box with a card inviting the desk to 'count them with us.' Per our strict ethical policy, we do not let this influence our coverage.