The Honda That Gets IIHS' Top Safety Pick+ Rating For Midsize SUVs

Automotive manufacturers aggressively pursue the acquisition of the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) Top Safety Pick+ rating for their vehicles. This is because it is a 'stamp of approval' in terms of safety performance that many shoppers look for when deciding which car to buy. Consumers generally prefer to buy a car with the best safety ratings.

There are several criteria a vehicle must pass to receive the IIHS Top Safety Pick+, which the IIHS began awarding in 2013. These are a good rating in the small overlap front test, a good rating in the updated moderate overlap front test, a good rating in the updated side test, an acceptable or good rating in the headlights standard, and an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test. There is also a category called the IIHS Top Safety Pick (without the plus), which is identical except for its allowance of an acceptable instead of a good rating in the updated moderate overlap front test. Picking a vehicle that meets these criteria should help you avoid the deadliest car in America.

The Honda midsize SUV that has received the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ is the 2026 Honda Passport. By meeting the criteria, the 2026 Honda Passport has shown that its safety performance is as good as any other car that has achieved the same results. Since its competition in the midsize SUV category from Buick, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen have also received the IIHS Top Safety Pick+, the 2026 Honda Passport remains in contention. 

The IIHS is, in its own words, "...an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes through research and evaluation and through education of consumers, policymakers and safety professionals." The IIHS is totally supported by the companies that make up the auto insurance industry.

The IIHS Top Safety Pick+ and IIHS Top Safety Pick awards are intended to be seen as the organization's picks for the safest cars within each category and not in an absolute sense. This is because the IIHS understands that larger, heavier vehicles protect their occupants better than smaller, lighter ones. It means that midsize SUVs like the Honda Passport are safer than small SUVs like the Honda HR-V, keeping the comparison within the Honda family. It also means that the Honda Passport will not be as safe as IIHS' Top Safety Pick+ winners in the large SUV class, like the Audi, Infiniti, Nissan, Rivian, and Volvo vehicles that reside in that size class. This makes the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating more useful for comparing cars within the size class you are shopping in.

The 2026 Honda Passport was one of five Hondas that received the IIHS Top Safety Pick+. The others are the 2025 Honda Accord, 2025 Honda Civic Sedan, 2025 Honda Civic Hatchback, and the 2025 Honda HR-V. In spite of this, Honda remains one of the car brands with the worst safety ratings.

The 2026 Honda Passport is a midsize, two-row SUV that seats five. It slots into the Honda SUV lineup just below the three-row Pilot and ahead of the compact CR-V. For 2026, the Passport has been redesigned, with a brawnier appearance, a longer wheelbase, a wider track, a bit more ground clearance, a shorter overhang in the front, a five-horsepower boost to its 3.5-liter V6, an improved AWD system, and a new 10-speed automatic transmission. Our review of the 2026 Passport Trailsport discovered that it did an excellent job at tackling tough off-road trails.

The Honda Passport's V6 engine now produces 285 horsepower in all trim levels, which produced a 0-60 mph run of 7.3 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 15.7 seconds at 90 mph during Car and Driver testing of a Honda Passport Trailsport model. Brakes on the Passport are vented discs all around, which provided a stopping distance of 181 feet from a speed of 70 mph.

Thanks to that longer wheelbase for 2026, the Honda Passport has more room for passengers and cargo. Cargo capacity is 44 cu. ft. behind the rear seat and goes up to 83 cu. ft. with the rear seat folded. Passenger volume is 58 cu. ft. in the front seat and 58 cu. ft. in the rear seat. Overall, the Honda Passport is a very competitive midsize SUV that offers a good combination of space, capability, and the very important IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating.