Safety Sells
If there’s one truth about automotive sales these days, it is that, apart from sustainability and value-for-money, safety is a top priority for car buyers. In comparison, it may not seem like the most interesting topic about cars, safety tests, and the results are – and should be – significant considerations for anybody looking to buy a brand-new vehicle.
Subaru is one of the brands that uses safety to further its brand, pioneering the use of its award-winning Eyesight technology and improving production to ensure safety for all its customers.
More importantly, the star-spangled brand recently added a notch to its safety front, with the latest Subaru Forester getting the Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – the highest honor the institution awards.
Hitting the Mark
The Subaru Forester’s recent award was announced on the IIHS’s official list of results, the latest round of its safety tests. Of note, to earn the coveted TSP+ rating, the car had to score “Good” in all three of the following categories: Crashworthiness, Crash Avoidance and Mitigation, and Seatbelts and Child Restraints.
Digging a little deeper into the IIHS results, the intensive testing shows that all the hard work Subaru puts into safety pays off across all significant aspects. In terms of driver’s safety, the Forester got a Good rating for Head, Chest, Hip, and Thigh safety, with the lower leg or foot rating at A (acceptable). Passenger safety results show as Good-rated across all aspects in front- and side-impact tests.
As mentioned, Subaru is very proud of its Eyesight safety suite technology, and during the test, it performed as intended. The IIHS tested the Eyesight pre-collision braking at speeds from 31 to 43 mph using different obstacles, such as a passenger car, a motorcycle, and a semi-trailer. The Eyesight system promptly detected and avoided a collision, earning it a Good rating. It also performed well on pedestrian collision avoidance, with the test conducted in “day” and “night” simulations.
Safest Ever Forester
The results speak for themselves: the 2026 Forester is one of the safest vehicles you can buy today. It must be noted, though, that an A rating is more than sufficient for pedestrian front collision prevention and headlight performance. This is because the standards are slightly more lenient on these criteria.
The last time a Forester received the TSP+ rating was in 2022, but back then, safety tests weren’t as rigorous as they are now, making the 2026 model the safest ever.
Cole Attisha
