Toyota Corolla Misses IIHS Top Safety Pick Over One Rear-Seat Weakness

Stricter = Failure

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is one of the most respected and trustworthy independent safety rating agencies in the world. In America, any IIHS rating can usually make or break a car in terms of sales, with more Americans taking their safety on the road more seriously.

2026 saw the IIHS update some of its grading and scoring criteria, which has divided the industry. Some brands and models have shown just how safety-oriented they are, while others have dropped down the order. The 2026 Toyota Corolla, a usually highly rated safe car, narrowly misses out on the Top Safety Pick award.

It Only Takes One

Overall, the 2026 Toyota Corolla scored highly across almost all IIHS categories. The highest rating given by the agency is "Good," and the Corolla was able to score it for the Small Overlap Front Test, Side Updated Test, Headlights, Front Crash Prevention Vehicle-to-Vehicle, Front Crash Prevention Pedestrian, and finally the Seatbelts and Child Restraints.

The IIHS points out that these new safety ratings apply to the 2020-2026 Corolla Sedan because the model was updated from the previous 2019 model. Where the current Corolla model fell short was in the Moderate Overlap Front Updated Test, where the rear passenger's chest and rear passenger restraints scored only a "Marginal" rating, one level higher than a "Poor" rating.

As a result, the overall evaluation of that criterion was rated "Marginal," which means the 2026 Corolla is unable to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick award. Looking at the other results, during the Side Impact test, the Corolla received an "Average" rating for Torso safety for both the driver and the passenger. Despite this, the overall rating given was still a Good.

Crash Avoidance

Crash avoidance for both cars and pedestrians is the main consideration in the IIHS's new grading system, and the Corolla scored Good across all driving conditions. Toyota's built-in collision mitigation system was effective at detecting cars and pedestrians at various speeds and under various conditions.

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