The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) routinely publishes videos of its crash tests to YouTube. While it's certainly satisfying to watch new cars get smashed to pieces, the clips also provide a unique insight into how safety is engineered into new vehicles. These are the IIHS's most viewed crash test videos from last year.
5. 2023 Rivian R1S Updated Moderate Overlap Crash Test
Taking the fifth spot is the 2023 Rivian R1S. It's the most expensive car on this list, and the only purely electric vehicle. We can understand the public's curiosity here — Rivian is a new brand, and it's always interesting to see how battery-powered cars stack up against tests originally designed for gas-powered vehicles. The answer? Not well, at least with regards to the updated moderate overlap test, where the R1S scored a "marginal" rating.
4. 2023 Toyota Camry Updated Moderate Overlap Crash Test
Next on the list is the 2023 Toyota Camry. While it's not a very exciting car, it's easy to see why this crash test was so popular. The Camry is the best-selling sedan in the United States, moving nearly 300,000 units in 2023. Buyers, owners, and Uber passengers alike are likely curious to know how this car would fare in a crash. Like the Rivian, it was able to score well in every crash category save for the test you see above, the updated moderate overlap test, where it too scored a rating of "marginal."
3. 2023 Ford Maverick Updated Side Crash Test
The IIHS's tests of the Ford Maverick strive to answer a question we're sure is on every pickup owner's mind: Can a pickup truck still be safe if it's small? Sure, an F-150 can tank virtually any reasonable impact you throw at it, but what about Ford's entry-level unibody truck? The public's interest was enough to elevate the Maverick's side crash test video to third place. While it was able to achieve a "good" rating on this test, it was only given an "acceptable" rating for its moderate overlap.
2. Volvo XC60 Updated Side Crash Test
Volvo is touted as one of the safest car brands out there, so it's pretty big news whenever one of its cars doesn't ace a crash test. That's exactly what happened here during the XC60, where in the IIHS's updated side crash test, the SUV was only able to score an "acceptable" rating (one rating below "good"). The XC60 was able to ace every other test, though, so we suspect it's still pretty safe.
1. Toyota Grand Highlander Small Overlap Crash Test
The most-viewed video from the IIHS in 2023 goes to the Toyota Grand Highlander's driver-side small overlap crash test. We suspect this video was so popular for the same reasons the Camry's crash test was so widely viewed: Because a lot of people will buy this car, and they simply want to know how it performs in a crash. The Highlander is the go-to choice for big families, meaning parents are likely curious to know how it'll perform. The car earned an "acceptable" rating here, the only test where it performed below "good."
