You’ve heard it from your parents and their parents. It’s something along the lines of “bigger means better” when it comes to staying safe on the road. Well, that’s not always the case nowadays. Instead, these five small SUVs are a handful of the safest vehicles on the road with top safety scores from the IIHS and NHTSA. 

These five small SUVs are some of the safest models on the market– with (almost) no caveat

Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluate vehicles. Not for straight-line speed or road-holding. No, these agencies look at safety factors like crashworthiness and crash avoidance. As a result, we have a list of five of the safest small SUVs on the market. Alas, small doesn’t have to mean dangerous. 

Regarding 2025 model-year SUVs, the Genesis GV60, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Subaru Forester, and Mazda CX-30 earned the highest awards from the agencies. That means all five models snagged the coveted Top Safety Pick+ and five-star rating from the IIHS and NHTSA, respectively. 

12 small SUVs from the 2025 model year earned Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ ratings from the IIHS. However, not all of them were caveat-free. For instance, the 2025 Subaru Forester earned some of the best possible scores from the NHTSA and IIHS. However, the safety agency didn’t award the Top Safety Pick+ rating to the Wilderness trim of the Subaru Forester.

On the other hand, the Genesis GV60, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, and Mazda CX-30 managed to earn Top Safety Pick+ 2025 models without a trim-specific note. Consequently, at a starting price of around $25,745, the 2025 Hyundai Kona is the cheapest vehicle on the list of the safest small SUVs. Better yet, the Kona earned the same Top Safety Pick+ rating and five-star NHTSA rating and remains cheaper than its sibling, the Hyundai Tucson.