The Safest SUVs for 2024 and 2025

Jump to: Safest x-small SUVs | Safest small SUVs | Safest midsize SUVs | Safest large SUVs

Safety for the driver, occupants and pedestrians are often top of mind for shoppers looking for an SUV or crossover. Luckily, buyers have plenty of choice nowadays, as collision prevention technology, active driving aids, and a variety of airbags can be found in vehicles of all sizes.

These are some of the safest SUVs in each class, and they just happen to be some of the best vehicles we’ve tested. Some are cheap and cheerful, and some are expensive and spacious. But no matter what, each one will help get you and your passengers around with peace of mind thanks to high safety ratings from the federal government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). That said, it is important to note that there is no such thing as a vehicle that will keep you and your passengers fully safe in every scenario. Several factors in a car crash — ranging from speed to vehicle weights to the impact angle — can affect the damage caused to the vehicle and its passengers. But choosing a vehicle that has scored well in these tests should leave you assured it has been rigorously tested to perform its best in an accident.  

All prices below include the manufacturer's destination charge.

Safest x-small SUVs

2025 Mazda CX-30

The 2025 Mazda CX-30 is one of our favorite subcompact crossovers thanks to its sharp styling, standard all-wheel drive and engine options. It also ranks well in terms of safety, earning NHTSA’s five-star overall safety score and achieving the coveted Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS. It scores the institute’s highest award — beyond good crashworthiness scores in all of the IIHS tests, it avoided a collision with a pedestrian dummy in a variety of situations. It’s a fantastic vehicle that also happens to be one of the safest SUVs out there.

• Base price: $26,415
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+
• Edmunds Rating: 7.9 (out of 10)

2025 Nissan Kicks

Thanks to a comprehensive redesign, the 2025 Nissan Kicks is not only more appealing and refined, but it also receives a five-star NHTSA safety rating. Standard safety features include blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking and more. Step up to the top SR trim to get more driver assist features such as lane departure prevention, traffic sign recognition and oncoming traffic assist. The SR model also gets Nissan's ProPilot Assist, which controls steering, throttle and braking inputs at low speeds.

• Base price: $23,220
• NHSTA overall rating: five stars
• IIHS rating: not yet tested 
• Edmunds Rating: not yet rated

2025 BMW X1

The 2025 BMW X1 has standard all-wheel drive, a spacious cabin and two powertrain options. The base xDrive28i gets a class-competitive 241 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbo-four, while the X1 M35 gets a tuned-up version of the same engine for a heady 312 ponies. Both get a tech-centered cabin, with a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 10.7-inch touchscreen display running the sophisticated iDrive 9 infotainment system. And lest we forget, the X1 is also a safe compact SUV, achieving an overall four-star rating from NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS.

• Base price: $42,125
• NHTSA overall rating: four stars
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick
• Edmunds Rating: 8.1 (out of 10)

Safest small SUVs

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

VW’s best-selling car in the U.S. is new for 2025 and has meaningful updates inside and out. Most notable is the cabin, which has nicer materials and expansive screens running Volkswagen's updated MIB4 infotainment. Volkswagen's full suite of safety systems, including blind-spot warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking, is standard on all Tiguans. Thanks to the Tiguan’s updates for 2025, it earned a five-star safety rating from NHTSA.

• Estimated base price: around $30K
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars
• IIHS rating: not yet rated
• Edmunds Rating: not yet rated

2025 Hyundai Tucson 

Hyundai added a few standard safety features to the 2025 Tucson, which helped it earn a five-star rating from NHTSA and an IIHS Top Safety Pick+. For starters, Hyundai’s Smart Cruise Control 2 is now standard on all models, along with an in-cabin driver monitoring system and blind-spot collision warning. The Tucson remains one of our favorite crossover SUVs, and hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are also available.  

• Base price: $30,000

• NHTSA overall rating: five stars

• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+

• Edmunds Rating: 7.9 (out of 10)

2025 Genesis GV70

The Genesis GV70's value-oriented pricing, plus its avant-garde interior and exterior design, make it an appealing luxury crossover. It also offers an impressive balance of power, ride quality and handling that makes the GV70 an excellent option among small luxury SUVs. The GV70 is also a safe SUV; the 2023 model earned five stars in NHTSA testing, and the nearly identical 2025 model should follow suit. Meanwhile, the IIHS has rated the GV70 as a Top Safety Pick; it narrowly missed the top honors with a Marginal score in the updated moderate overlap test.

• Base price: $46,500
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars (2023)
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick
• Edmunds Rating: 8.3 (out of 10)

Safest midsize SUVs

2025 Hyundai Palisade

Hyundai’s largest SUV is one of our favorites, and it’s one of the cheaper three-row SUVs in the class. For 2025, NHTSA gave a five-star safety rating to the Palisade, which shares a platform with the Kia Telluride, while the IIHS awarded it a Top Safety Pick. Palisades come standard with loads of driver assist tech, and for 2025, more models get a surround-view camera system and front parking distance warning. 

• Base price: $38,215

• NHTSA overall rating: five stars

• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick

• Edmunds Rating: 8.3 (out of 10)

2025 Subaru Forester

Subaru updated its midsize SUV for the 2025 model year, and it doesn’t stray too far from the Forester’s successful formula. It remains practical and versatile, and the Forester has an updated body structure for a more compliant ride. Its driver assist tech was also enhanced, and Subaru says its systems are better at detecting objects, which helped earn the 2025 Forester an NHTSA five-star rating.

• Base price: $31,230
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars
• IIHS rating: not yet rated
• Edmunds Rating: not yet rated

2025 Mercedes-Benz GLE

The 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE is as safe as it is luxurious. The IIHS rates the GLE as a Top Safety Pick+ if you order the optional Driver Assistance package, which enhances the standard automatic emergency braking with a cross-traffic sensing function. The government agency rated the 2023 GLE five stars overall, and we expect 2025 model, which is barely altered, to perform similiarly. Beyond its impressive safety scores, the GLE also offers a variety of four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines to help buyers balance performance and budget, and its high-tech cabin is crafted very well.

• Base price: $63,800
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars (2023)
• IIHS rating: Top Safety Pick+ (with optional equipment)
• Edmunds Rating: 8.4 (out of 10)

Safest large SUVs

2025 Ford Expedition

The 2025 Ford Expedition is the largest SUV offering from the Blue Oval. The base XL STX model offers spacious seating for five, though most families will opt for the XLT model and its standard third row. Go for the standard-length Expedition and you’ll find 19.3 cubic feet of cargo room behind the third row, while the extended Expedition Max body style boasts 34.3 cubes. The full-size Expedition is also a safe SUV, with a five-star NHTSA safety rating (compared to the GMC Yukon’s four-star scores).

• Base price: $57,970
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars
• IIHS rating: not yet rated
• Edmunds Rating: 7.6 (out of 10)

2025 Chevrolet Tahoe

The current generation Chevrolet Tahoe has been around for a few years, and the 2025 model sees some significant updates. The most obvious is the updated design with a new front fascia and a slight reworking of the taillights. Chevy’s big family hauler also gets the company’s Safety Assist as standard, which includes automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, lane keeping assistance with lane departure warning, front pedestrian and bicyclist braking, and automatic high beams. Altogether, the updates earned the Tahoe a five-star rating from NHTSA.

• Base price: $60,495
• NHTSA overall rating: five stars
• IIHS rating: not yet rated
• Edmunds Rating: not yet rated