Only 4 Small SUVs Get Top Marks in New Whiplash Test
Out of the first 18 new vehicles the IIHS crash-tested, few earn a top rating in preventing the most common car crash injury
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has introduced a new whiplash test to determine how well a vehicle can prevent common head and neck injuries in a rear-end collision. In the first round of testing, only 4 out of 18 tested vehicles earned a top “Good” score, which shows that automakers have work to do to better prevent these kinds of injuries.
Small SUVs With the Best and Worst Whiplash Protection
Vehicles that earned a top “Good” score in the new whiplash prevention test were the 2025 Audi Q3, 2025-26 Hyundai Ioniq 5, 2025-26 Subaru Forester, and 2025 Toyota RAV4.
According to the IIHS, researchers observed that the seat and head restraints in these vehicles kept the head and spine in alignment, that the head did not move much relative to the spine, and that the cervical spine—the upper seven vertebrae—retained its natural curve.
“We don’t yet fully understand the mechanisms that cause whiplash injuries,” said Marcy Edwards, an IIHS senior research engineer who developed the new tests. “But our research makes us confident that reducing these types of movements and stresses should cut down on whiplash injuries in the real world.”
Photo: IIHS Photo: IIHS
Vehicles that earned an “Acceptable” score were the 2025-26 Buick Encore GX, 2025-26 Chevrolet Equinox, 2024-25 Honda CR-V, 2025-26 Jeep Compass, 2025-26 Kia Sportage, 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLB, 2025-26 Mitsubishi Outlander, 2025-26 Volkswagen Taos, and 2025-26 Volvo XC40.
The 2025 BMW X1 and 2025-26 Nissan Rogue earned “Marginal” scores.
The 2025-26 Ford Bronco Sport, 2025-26 Hyundai Tucson, and 2025-26 Mazda CX-50 earned the lowest score of “Poor.”
In the lowest-rated vehicles, the dummy’s head moved a great deal relative to the spine, and the cervical vertebrae stretched and straightened during the crash. For example, the Tucson’s head restraint pushed the chin down toward the chest, and the CX-50’s allowed the head to slide backward and upward. The Bronco Sport provided particularly poor support for the head and spine, and it took a long time for the dummy’s head to contact the head restraint.
“The neck muscles stretching and snapping back over the short duration of the crash can lead to the whiplash injuries we’re familiar with,” says Emily A. Thomas, PhD, associate director of auto safety at Consumer Reports. “Depending on the severity, it could result in chronic pain.”
Automakers are likely to take the new test into account when redesigning these models in the future, says Thomas. “The IIHS consistently makes its tests tougher over time to match the injury and fatality rates from the field,” she says. “This strategy means that automakers have to design increasingly safer cars to achieve top scores in those tests.”
Indeed, the new test replaces a less rigorous test that the IIHS discontinued in 2022 after nearly all tested vehicles earned top scores. It uses a dummy specifically designed to sense forces from rear impacts that represents a midsized adult male. For the test, engineers set the dummy in a car seat attached to a device called a sled, which moves to accurately replicate the forces felt during a crash without destroying a vehicle.
No matter what kind of car you drive, the experts at CR have advice on how to adjust your head restraint in order to reduce the risk of a whiplash injury, along with other changes you can make for a safer seating position. Make sure the top of the head restraint is higher than at least the top of your ears. Sit upright with your back against the vehicle seat, with as little distance between your head and the head restraint as possible.
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