Four out of seven 2025 EVs earn good ratings in IIHS test
Four out of seven 2025 model year electric vehicles — the BMW i4, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Tesla Cybertruck, and Volkswagen ID.Buzz — recently tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) earned good ratings in the moderate overlap front test.
The 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,” IIHS wrote in a press release. “Back seat performance, which IIHS started evaluating in 2022, is what differentiates vehicles.”
The new rating for the Cybertruck applies to models built after April 2025, when changes were made to the front underbody structure, IIHS said. The newest Tesla Model 3 is rated acceptable because of an elevated risk of chest injuries to rear passengers due to high seatbelt forces.
The Ford F-150 Lightning and Nissan Ariya earned poor and marginal ratings, respectively, both struggling with rear passenger protection.
The Ariya’s restraints worked well to control the motion of the rear dummy during the crash, but injury metrics showed a high risk of chest injuries.
In the F-150 Lightning, measurements taken from the rear dummy showed a high risk of chest and head or neck injuries. The rear dummy’s lap belt also moved from the ideal position on the pelvis onto the abdomen, which increases the risk of internal injuries, IIHS said.
The i4, Lightning, Cybertruck, and Model 3 earned good ratings in IIHS’s pedestrian crash prevention evaluation, while the ID.Buzz earned an acceptable rating.
When it comes to headlights, none of the vehicles in the group earns good ratings. However, five of the seven vehicles come exclusively with acceptable-rated headlights. The outliers are the i4, which is available with marginal or poor headlights, and the Cybertruck, which comes only with poor-rated headlights.
In IIHS testing, neither of the BMW’s two headlight systems provided adequate illumination on the high-beam setting. The poor-rated version offered with the eDrive35, eDrive40, and xDrive40 trims also created excessive glare with the low beams.
The Cybertruck’s headlights were also downgraded because the low beams created excessive glare.
Only the Ariya and Blazer EV have undergone all the tests required for IIHS’s Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards, but neither meets the criteria. The Blazer misses the mark due to an acceptable rating in the small overlap test, while the Ariya’s marginal rating in the moderate overlap test prevents it from qualifying, IIHS said.
Both awards require good ratings in the small overlap and side crash tests, acceptable or good ratings of the headlights offered with all trims, and an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian crash avoidance test. A rating of acceptable in the moderate overlap test is needed for the lower-tier Top Safety Pick award, and a good rating is required for Top Safety Pick+.
Ratings for the seven EVs in all the aforementioned tests, as well as for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, seatbelt reminders, and Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system ease of use, are available here.
Images
Featured image of crash-tested EVs provided by IIHS