Five Electric Vehicles Earn High Crash Test Ratings from IIHS

A handful of electric vehicles earned high crash test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Five out of seven electric vehicles recently tested by the IIHS performed well in a key crash test, while two others struggled with protection for back seat passengers.

Four 2025 models—the BMW i4, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Tesla Cybertruck and Volkswagen ID.Buzz—earned good ratings in the moderate overlap test. The Tesla Model 3 was rated acceptable. The rating for the Cybertruck applies to models built after April 2025, when changes were made to the front underbody structure.

All these vehicles provide excellent protection for the driver and solid protection for rear passengers. In the case of the Model 3, however, measurements taken from the rear dummy indicate a somewhat elevated risk of chest injuries due to high belt forces, according to the IIHS.

The Ford F-150 Lightning and Nissan Ariya earned ratings of poor and marginal respectively, also offer good protection for the driver but fell short in protecting passengers in the rear. The Ariya’s restraints worked well to control the motion of the rear dummy during the crash, but data showed a high risk of chest injuries, according to the IIHS.

Measurements taken during a test of the F-150 Lightning from the rear dummy showed a high risk of chest injuries and injuries to the head or neck. In addition, data from the rear dummy’s lap belt showed an increasing the risk of internal injuries.

The IIHS’ moderate overlap front test represents an offset crash between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions. The test vehicle strikes a stationary barrier at 40 mph with 40% of its front end overlapping the barrier. Today’s models almost all offer good front-seat protection in this kind of crash. Back seat performance, which IIHS started evaluating in 2022, is what differentiates vehicles, according to the institute.

Good ratings in the pedestrian crash prevention evaluation were given for the i4, Lightning, Cybertruck and Model 3, and the ID.Buzz was rated acceptable. The Blazer EV previously earned an acceptable rating, while both the standard and optional systems available on the Ariya previously earned ratings of good.

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