There are more than a dozen Honda cars, trucks, and SUVs on the market. A big consideration when potentially buying one of the brand’s cars is looking at which one is the safest Honda. Luckily, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has an easy way to determine which Honda cars are the safest through car safety ratings. Only four received the top award of being a Top Safety Pick+. 

What does a Top Safety Pick+ mean?

The IIHS was established in 1959. The non-profit research organization focuses on crash prevention and research. In the decades since it was established, the IIHS has developed standards to recognize the safest cars on the roads. The IIHS test and scores vehicles using car safety ratings to better inform consumers. 

There are two scoring systems: ‘Poor’ to ‘Good’ for crash tests and ‘Basic’ to ‘Superior’ for crash prevention. Vehicles with the best car safety ratings can earn two awards: Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+. 

The 2022 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ ratings are given to cars that have the following:

• Good ratings on the head restraint, roof strength, original side, moderate overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, and driver-side small overlap front tests
• Advanced or Superior ratings for available front crash prevention in vehicle-to-pedestrian and vehicle-to-vehicle evaluations
• Acceptable- or Good-rated headlights are standard

A Top Safety Pick is different in that Acceptable- or Good-rated headlights are optional. With that, here are the four safest Honda cars:

The new 2022 Civic is one of the safest Honda cars

The 2022 Honda Civic earned the Top Safety Pick+ rating as one of the safest cars on the road. It’s one of only three vehicles in the small cars segment to earn the highest rating possible in every test administered. 

The Civic earned ‘Good’ ratings for small and moderate overlap front, side, roof, and head restraint tests. The Civic also gets great ratings for all front crash prevention tests. The newest test category – the LATCH ease of use test for child seat anchors – sees the Civic earning the highest score possible of ‘Good.’

Reviewers from Forbes and Truecar echo the Civic’s high safety ratings. Driver aids like forward collision mitigation, driver attention monitoring, lane-keeping assist, and automatic high beams are standard on all Civic models. The automatic emergency braking system is updated for 2022, which is why Edmunds named the Civic the top small sedan of 2022.

The Honda Insight is a Top Safety Pick+ for 2022

Like the Civic, the Honda Insight is one of the safest Hondas and safest cars you can buy. It gets the same safety ratings as the Civic in every category and is a Top Safety Pick+ for 2022. Within each test, the Insight received the top score in all but one rating in the original side test – rear passenger pelvis/leg injury measures – but even then, it earned an ‘Acceptable’ rating. 

Honda cars are some of the safest on the road. That’s partly why the Insight is Edmunds’ best hybrid car of 2022.

The 2022 Honda Accord puts safety first

Like the Civic and Insight, the Honda Accord is one of the safest cars in its class. It’s a Top Safety Pick+ and one of just seven midsize cars to earn that rating for the 2022 model year.

Almost every rating within each category is the highest mark possible of ‘Good’ or ‘Superior.’ The only difference is in the headlight category. Two of the trims – the LX and Accord Hybrid models – have an ‘Acceptable’ rating instead of ‘Good.’

Driver aids like frontal collision mitigation and lane-keeping assist come standard on every model. Safety features like emergency braking assist, a four-wheel antilock braking system, and a pre- and post-collision safety system keeps drivers and passengers safe in tests.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey scored a big win

The fourth Honda vehicle to be a Top Safety Pick+ – the Honda Odyssey – is one of just three minivans to earn that rating. 

Similar to the other Honda cars on the list, the Odyssey gets top marks in almost all categories. Only two categories received ‘Acceptable’ marks in the IIHS review: structure and safety cage (during the passenger-side small overlap front test) and headlights.

Forward collision and lane departure mitigation systems come standard on all Odyssey models. Emergency brake assist, a pre-collision safety system, and a four-wheel antilock braking system are standard as well. 

Are these car safety ratings reliable?

IIHS testing is the most rigorous standardized safety testing on new cars. It’s easy to go through the car safety ratings and see how each vehicle scored differently. The convenient means to look through the safest vehicles on the market is invaluable. The ratings are updated whenever a model is redesigned and are reliable for car shoppers.