How to Read IIHS and NHTSA Safety Ratings

Two programs, two ways of scoring

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) both run crash tests. They ask different questions and report the answers in different ways.

IIHS rates each test separately, and Good is the strongest result on most of them. Here’s the IIHS test list:

• Small overlap front
• Moderate overlap front
• Side
• Headlights
• Front crash prevention, both vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian
• Seat belt reminders
• LATCH, the anchors for child seats
• Whiplash prevention

IIHS then rolls its strongest performers into the TOP SAFETY PICK and TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards. NHTSA runs its own frontal and side crash tests along with a rollover evaluation, then boils the results down to stars, with five at the top.

What it takes to earn TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+

Both 2026 awards start from the same base, which has two parts:

• Good in the small overlap front and moderate overlap front tests, plus the side test
• Acceptable or Good headlights on every trim, along with standard front crash prevention

The two awards part ways on pedestrian and vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention. TOP SAFETY PICK also needs Acceptable or Good in the pedestrian test. TOP SAFETY PICK+ asks for more: Good in the pedestrian test and Acceptable or Good in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation. When you see the plus sign, you’re looking at the higher bar.

What NHTSA’s stars are built from

NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings cover four things: a frontal crash, a rollover evaluation and two kinds of side crash. In the side barrier test, a moving barrier strikes the driver side. In the side pole test, the vehicle slides sideways into a narrow pole. The rollover score blends a measure of how top-heavy the vehicle is with a driving maneuver test.

The overall rating combines all four, and five stars means much lower than average injury risk. Look at the individual scores too, because a vehicle can earn 5 stars overall and still carry 4 stars in a single test.

Six 2026 Mazdas, read side by side

Here’s how the two programs look together. Each of the six models in the table earned IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ for 2026, and each carries 5 stars overall in NHTSA’s 2025 results. The Mazda CX-5 makes a handy model to follow along with.

Underneath those overall scores, NHTSA’s 2025 sub-scores vary a little. Frontal and rollover are the two columns worth a close look, because a few models score a star lower there than they do overall. All six still land at 5 stars overall.

On the IIHS side, child seat anchors rate Good+ and seat belt reminders rate Good across all six models. If car seats are in your future, that LATCH rating is worth a minute of your time.

Why the exact vehicle matters

A rating describes the exact vehicle IIHS or NHTSA tested, and a few details decide how far it reaches.

Trim. Headlights are the classic example. The 2026 Mazda3 earned Good headlights on the 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus and Acceptable on the other trims in the table. Both results qualify for the award, but the headlight rating you read depends on the trim you choose. The 2026 CX-5 follows the same pattern.

Build date. The side rating on the 2026 CX-50 applies to models built after August 2023. That covers 2024 and later.

Powertrain. The moderate overlap front result for the CX-70 and CX-90 comes from the specific vehicles IIHS tested, so match the powertrain to that vehicle when you’re reading a listing.

IIHS also carries a rating forward when a model stays the same in ways that affect crash performance, and it can extend a rating to models that share a platform. When a number matters to you, match it to the exact vehicle you plan to drive, including its trim, build date and powertrain.

A quick reading order for any rating

1. Find the award and its year. TOP SAFETY PICK+ for 2026 means something specific, and a different year may rest on different results.

2. Open the tests behind it. Look for Good in both front crash tests and the side test.

3. Check headlights for your trim. Acceptable and Good both qualify for the award, but they are different ratings.

4. Read the NHTSA overall score, then the four sub-scores. Frontal, side barrier, side pole and rollover each tell part of the story.

5. Match the model year, build date and powertrain. The NHTSA stars in the table are 2025 results, and some IIHS results apply to a certain build window or version of a model.

6. Look at child seat anchors. The LATCH rating matters most if car seats are in your future.

Where driver assistance fits in

Ratings capture how a vehicle performs in testing. Driver assistance features are the part you use on every commute.

Both IIHS awards call for standard front crash prevention, so that’s one spot where the award list and the equipment list meet. Mazda groups its driver assistance features under the name i-Activsense. Blind Spot Monitoring can help detect vehicles in your blind spots and show you a visual alert, and Mazda Radar Cruise Control can maintain a set speed or a following distance in slower traffic.

Which features come with a particular vehicle depends on its trim, so ask us about the one you’re considering.

Safety rating questions

Take the numbers for a drive

Numbers are a good start. Sitting in the seat and trying the driver assistance features on a drive tells you the rest.

Browse our new Mazda inventory or look through the full range of Mazda models to see what fits your life in Northeast Ohio. If you’re thinking about a trade, the Value Your Trade tool is a quick place to start. When you’re ready to set up a test drive, contact the Bass Mazda team and we’ll get you behind the wheel.