Nissan Murano scores Top Safety Pick+ in IIHS crash testing

Nissan‘s Murano crossover is the latest vehicle to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ rating, joining the Toyota Highlander atop the organization’s list of the safest mid-size crossovers.

Many vehicles are missing out on the desirable Top Safety Pick ranking thanks to a new, more stringent small-overlap frontal crash test that focuses the stress of an impact on a smaller portion of a vehicle’s structure; Murano and Highlander are two of just six mid-size crossovers that have posted a ‘good’ result in that test. The recently-added Top Safety Pick+ honour recognizes vehicles that not only ace the IIHS’ crash tests, but also feature effective crash avoidance technologies.

Other 2015 Top Safety Pick winners in the Murano’s class include the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain twins, Nissan Pathfinder, Kia Sorento and Ford Flex.

There are a number of surprises at the bottom of the mid-size crossover list, including the Honda Pilot, Mazda CX-9, and the insanely-popular Dodge Journey, all of which scored ‘poor’ in the small-overlap test despite mostly earning ‘good’ ratings in other tests.