While earning a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is certainly an impressive accomplishment, vehicles normally only qualify for it at higher trim levels or when equipped with optional features. Yesterday, Toyota bucked that trend when the 2017 Toyota Highlander earned Top Safety Pick+ designation with standard equipment.
The news comes courtesy of yesterday's press release from the Toyota camp. In order to earn a 2017 TSP+ award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in all five IIHS crashworthiness tests—small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints—as well as an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention. To add the "plus" designation the vehicle must have an acceptable or good headlight rating.
“Toyota is firmly committed to a wide range of initiatives further enhancing the safety of Toyota vehicles and peace of mind for our customers,” said Jeff Makarewicz, Toyota’s North American Vehicle, Quality & Safety Engineering Group Vice President. “This sincere dedication to safety by our engineers resulted in another IIHS Top Safety pick for Toyota.”
2017 Toyota Highlander earns Top Safety Pick+ award. https://t.co/B6ld9i3CS5
— IIHS (@IIHS_autosafety) January 10, 2017
