
Each year the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) names an elite group of vehicles to its Top Safety Pick + list. These vehicles are the cream of the crop when it comes to occupant safety and accident avoidance.
To ensure that the listed vehicles continue to be industry leading each year, the standards for the Top Safety Pick + designation are made stricter each year. This year, vehicles must have a "good" rating in the small front overlap test. Last year, the additional requirement of automatic braking capability was added.
In addition to these requirements, each Top Safety Pick + vehicle must receive a "good" rating in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. A "good" or "acceptable" rating in the front crash prevention test is also required, which is gauged by the automatic braking system's performance when tested at 12 mph and 25 mph.
While further testing could admit more vehicles, the Top Safety Pick + list currently has 48 vehicles on it. Of those 48 vehicles there is just one minicar, and just one low-priced car that offers automatic braking standard. That car is the Scion iA.
At a price of $16,495, the Scion iA is the cheapest vehicle on the Top Safety Pick + list, and is also the only car in the minicar class. When it comes to safety at a more than reasonable price, the Scion iA has no rivals.
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