The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released its Top Safety Picks for 2026. Three luxury cars earned the highest award of Top Safety Pick+. Only one luxury car earned the title of Top Safety Pick.
The IIHS puts vehicles through thorough crash testing and checks the functionality of several safety features in crash situations to grade vehicles in multiple safety categories and determine winners.
Here are the top luxury car IIHS Safety Picks for 2026 and what car buyers should know about each model.
The 2026 Audi A5 Midsize Luxury Car Is a Top Safety Pick+
Audi’s A5 midsize luxury car is the only model in its segment to get the Top Safety Pick+ designation from the IIHS. It received the institute’s highest grades for all crashworthiness test categories and all crash avoidance and mitigation test categories.
The 2026 Audi A5 starts at $50,200. It uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder to produce 268 horsepower. The midsize luxury car achieves 22 miles per gallon in the city and 31 miles per gallon on the highway.
Audi’s midsize luxury car has a spacious interior and engaging dynamics. It comes standard with plenty of safety features like forward collision mitigation with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning and automatic emergency braking.
The 2027 Audi A6 Sportback E-Tron Earns Top Safety Scores
The A6 e-tron is an EV that comes with plenty of standard tech. It earned the highest IIHS grades for crashworthiness and is one of the few electric vehicles on the list of winners.
Audi’s A6 Sportback e-tron starts at $66,700. It produces 375 horsepower and has 326 miles of driving range.
Audi’s electric luxury car is powerful and has a solid driving range for its segment. The A6 Sportback e-tron features standard active lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking and a 360-degree camera system.
The 2026 Genesis G80 Is an IIHS Top Safety Pick
South Korean automaker Genesis is making major waves on the luxury vehicle scene. The Genesis G80 large luxury car got perfect grades in the institute’s crashworthiness categories. The IIHS notes that this award applies specifically to G80 models “built after June 2025.”
The 2026 Genesis G80 starts at $58,450. It uses a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to produce a mighty 300 horsepower (which is great for its size). The G80 earns 20 miles per gallon in the city and 29 miles per gallon on the highway.
Genesis’s large luxury car has a refined interior and a luxurious exterior design. It comes standard with a long list of safety features, including blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, forward collision-avoidance assist and highway driving assist.
The 2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Earns Top Marks for Safety
The Mercedes C-Class is a fierce competitor in its segment. Mercedes’s midsize luxury car earned the institute’s highest grades for its crashworthiness categories, including small overlap front crashes, moderate overlap front crashes and side crashes.
The 2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class starts at $49,650. It uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and mild hybrid system to produce 255 horsepower. The C-Class achieves 25 miles per gallon in the city and 35 miles per gallon on the highway.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class models are known for their refined cabins and agile handling. The C-Class features several standard safety features, including a driver attention assist, automatic emergency braking and blind-spot assist with exit warning.
If you’re looking for a safe, refined and stylish luxury car, there are plenty of solid options on the market.
Charles Singh is an Autos Connect Reporter for The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY network. Contact him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What are the safest luxury cars for 2026? 4 earn top marks
Reporting by Charles Singh , USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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