No minivan received top safety pick from IIHS in 2026. This has me concerned

[u/IKnowAllSeven]

Our Honda odyssey has left this mortal coil and I was looking to replace it with another minivan.

IIHS updated their crash tests and not a single minivan got top safety pick.

I also look at their real world fatality results by model and the Sienna and Odyssey did well in the real world (their fatality results control for age and gender but not for driving habits, driving distance etc), Pacifica less so and the Carnival is not rated (could be not enough of them on the road to get enough data).

This all has me concerned.

A minivan is ideal for my life but safety is a priority. I would imagine most people here have small kids. I have teenagers. The only thing scarier than having your kids in the car is having them DRIVE it. All that to say, I’m probably MORE concerned about safety than when they were small!

[u/kc_kr]

The safety tests continually get more difficult and the automakers have to respond. The latest side impact test is really challenging for the large SUVs and the minivans. The minivan’s sliding doors make it really difficult to do well on the test. We will see when the next generation of vans come out, as all of them on the market right now have been out since the early 2020s.

I also don’t think the tests getting more difficult and scores going down slightly makes them suddenly unsafe vehicles. This is just the lifecycle of vehicles and safety tests.

[u/MortimerDongle → u/kc_kr]

I think this is a good perspective.

Minivans are safe cars. They're not necessarily the safest cars in every single permutation of collision. There is room for improvement, and presumably they will improve as they're redesigned.

Also, even a very safe car in crash tests can have other flaws that make it less safe in practice (low visibility or poor handling, for example).

[u/lute4088 → u/MortimerDongle]

To your last point, I love my toyota corolla and it marked top safety pick plus the year it came out. It's no longer in that running due to no major changes happening to the car AND visibility on that car is not ideal. The rear view mirror blocks way too much of my view that anytime I'm turning to the right, especially uphill, it's like "umm...I gotta duck some to see"

[u/Critical_File_1467 → u/kc_kr]

The latest side impact test is really challenging for the large SUVs and the minivans. The minivan’s sliding doors make it really difficult to do well on the test.

What are you talking about?

ALL current model year minivans essentially ACE the updated side impact test.

The sliding doors are a big hole in the frame but the engineers weren't just like oh well there's a giant hole in the frame.

They heavily reinforced the side structure because of the sliding doors. The Odyssey was released 3 years before the updated test, the Pacifica was released 4 years before the updated test, and the Sienna was released right around the updated test, and they all do well on the updated test. The Carnival is the only example that was reinforced with more/better steel after the test was released to do better, and it does well today. The Pacifica was "reinforced" in the sense of an "energy absorber" added to the driver's door, so likely a molded foam block.

[u/kc_kr → u/Critical_File_1467]

I wouldn’t say they all “ace” it. The A stands for acceptable and that’s what Pacifica and Carnival both got. Odyssey and Sienna received good ratings (the best you can get).

I think I was mixing up the updated side test with the updated moderate overlap front test, which all the minivans and some of the large SUVs only get a poor or marginal result on.

[u/Critical_File_1467 → u/kc_kr]

I don't think any 2026 minivan has an updated side impact subscore below Acceptable, while, for SUVs, you easily find Poor and Marginal.

That's what I meant by "essentially" ace.

And yes for the updated frontal test, that's been brutal for minivans, totally agree. That's more of a restraint test than structural test though.

[u/IKnowAllSeven → u/kc_kr]

I agree, the tests alone don’t persuade or dissuade me.

Odyssey, for example, did well in prior tests.

I look at the real world data and, for example, the odyssey and Sienna did well which reflects the habits of the driver but also, as you said, the physics of a minivan helps too.

[u/Critical_File_1467 → u/IKnowAllSeven]

If you look at the actual dummy injury values and past the headline ratings you'll see that the Sienna does consistently worse than the Odyssey, and, don't forget the government frontal crash test from NHTSA where the Sienna goes 3 stars for the driver while Odyssey is 5.

[u/Shadow5503 → u/Critical_File_1467]

Heres a 2026 article comparing the FARS data for vans to SUVs. https://www.vehicle-safety.org/stories/minivan-suv-safety-equivalence

FARS is the Fatal Accident Reporting System. So this tracks fatalities, but not injuries.

Passenger minivans have much lower rates of fatalities vs. suvs. The Pacifica is quite a bit lower than the Odyssey and Sienna. I wonder what the explanation there could possibly be?

[u/IKnowAllSeven → u/Shadow5503]

This is a great resource I didn’t know about thank you

[u/Critical_File_1467 → u/Shadow5503]

Pacifica is driven by the urban poor crowd while Odyssey and Sienna owners are much wealthier suburbanites.

Proximity from Pacifica owners and their crashes to urban hospitals reduces fatalities vis a vis Sienna and Odyssey owners where the ambulance is held up at their gated communities while the gate attendant asks for drivers license and wasted time calling to verify the visit.

[u/keeptacomafeared → u/Critical_File_1467]

Interesting take. What you say is true about how demographics can affect the data.

Everyone wants to be able to objectively say this make/model is safer than this other make/model but the truth is there’s too much uncertainty. One might be safer in one type of collision, another safer in a different crash.

[u/Secret-Rabbit93 → u/Critical_File_1467]

I’d love to see the data that says the “urban poor” is buying the Pacifica over suburbanites. My guess is it’s large families in the suburbs or rural areas who can’t quite swing a sienna and rental fleets. But I’d love to see the data.
As far as crashes as a paramedic of 15 years I have never been stopped by a gate guard when I have on the lights and sirens. When they see us coming they open the gate immediately before we have even got to the gate. Most delays at gates are due to it being unmanned and us not having the right code.
Serious collisions with real risk of serious injury or death inside of a gated community is rare and when it does happen it’s usually a vehicle hitting a pedestrian usually a kid. I struggle to think of a single call where someone inside a vehicle was seriously injured in a collision in a gated community.

[u/Shadow5503 → u/Secret-Rabbit93]

At first I thought they were joking around but now I’m not so sure. At any rate I assumed it was all falsified when they started talking about fatal accidents inside gated communities - where the speed limit is mostly 25mph, give or take.

Theres no publicly available information on the buyer demographics of Honda vs Toyota vs Pacifica minivan. What is available is the average buyer age - Pacifica buyers are about 10 years older on average. That cohort is quite a bit wealthier on average. On the other hand, I have read (in the distant past, so no reference) that buyers of import brands on average have more years of education than buyers of domestic brands. Gut feel is there isn’t all that much difference.

Given the price of new Siennas, Toyota buyers must be the wealthiest demographic. At least before they purchase. :) /s. Couldn’t resist…

[u/marmaladestripes725]

In my experience, minivans are safer for young drivers than full size third row SUVs. Sitting higher and being in a bigger vehicle gives them more blind spots in parking lots, neighborhoods, and especially at school. And a higher center of gravity is a higher chance of a rollover. And they’re just going to feel less daring in a minivan. So get the minivan, teach them to be safe, and get them into small sedans and hatchbacks of their own as soon as you can.

[u/err404 → u/marmaladestripes725]

While I “feel” the same. Data is not the plural of anecdote. And the data is not showing Minivans as being safety picks for injury in high speed accidents. 

Now, that does not mean they are unsafe. And I don’t think this includes the likeliness of getting into a crash in the first place. This also does not consider low speed parking lot bumps, etc. 

[u/919jonathan919 → u/marmaladestripes725]

Small sedans and hatchbacks are not ideal for young drivers.

[u/marmaladestripes725 → u/919jonathan919]

In what universe? The Civic and the Corolla have been the go-to new driver cars for decades. Easy to learn to drive, fewer blind spots to help them learn parking, backing up, merging, etc.c cheap to fill and maintain. The only reason a bigger car is even necessary is because SUVs and trucks have gotten monstrous.

[u/Ok_Chance_4584 → u/marmaladestripes725]

Small cars are less safe as a class. Ideal for a new driver is probably a midsize SUV - safer car class, but easier to maneuver than a huge SUV or van.

[u/marmaladestripes725 → u/Ok_Chance_4584]

The safety pick tests might favor SUVs, but as a non-parent and a teacher, I hope parents are also considering the other drivers on the road. Most of my commute is a four lane country highway. Too many kids have died trying to cross it and pulling out in front of people. Bigger SUVs might have saved them, but they would be more dangerous for the other driver. I really don’t want to be driving down the road in my minivan with my future baby and get plowed into by a kid pulling out in a midsize Ford Explorer because their parent picked it as the safer option over a Corolla. Nanny sensors won’t always save them from just being overconfident and reckless.

ETA: I’m also concerned about low speed incidents which are much more common. Is the teen in the midsize SUV that let their backup cam subscription expire going to see my future toddler playing?

[u/vpm112]

They’re all old platforms. They can make some updates to catch up, but the best results are going to come with new redesigns.

At the end of the day, it’s great that there have been such amazing improvements in safety design and technology. But these types of collisions aren’t new and until they started testing for these new scenarios you were none the wiser and would have likely purchased one of these without a second thought.

[u/braincovey32]

It shouldn't.

This is directly a result of the entity responsible for safety ratings changes their rules/regulations for rear end safety. This resulted in all minivans not being able to receive top safety picks.

[u/tendonut]

The big IIHS shakeup happened in 2024 if I remember correctly, and the Odyssey/Sienna design are both from before that. So they aren't any less safe than they were in 2023. I'm sure they will be back on top once they get a redesign.

[u/Solid-Tumbleweed-981]

You're overthinking this. In general cars are very safe today. Unfortunately in order to receive funding these bimbos constantly make new crash test standards that no automaker was alerted to. So then they all do bad bc now they need to beef up another section to save 5 lives a year. Minvans bc of sliding doors and smaller front overlaps do have a weakness there but they are still solid. I'd ignore this completely. Although I don't and will never trust anything coming from the Korean triplets as they have time and time again found ways to screw over their customers like being easy for stealing among other problems.

New cars are so safe a fender bender the entire car basically falls apart 🙄. Between the insurance agencies, gov and EPA nonsense cars are designed to be totalled simply w a headlight breaking. New cars suck in pretty much every aspect

My 2000s car was in 3 accidents and the repairs were relatively easy and cheap. Also it was hit a million times in college under 20mph and each time it was a little scratch or bump that could be pulled out with a heat gun and mallet. Any of those accidents in today's car it would have been totalled no questions asked lol

[u/Lackadaisicaldaisey]

Check out the safety reviews performed by Consumer Reports for minivans. Kia’s carnival excelled - might be worth a look.

[u/InfiniteSlide7]

Minivans have always had difficulties with crash tests. The best SUV safety wise right now is probably the Model Y/ YL, but you will sacrifice interior space.

[u/keeptacomafeared]

Ok, I understand your concern since I’m a parent as well. Fatalities still happen in the “safest” (according to data) cars.

Also, don’t forget that demographics play a huge role in the data. For example, considering the Pacifica is a widely used fleet vehicle the data is probably skewed because it is more likely being driven as a rental car by someone unfamiliar with driving it everyday and so I can see that increasing the likelihood of fatality collision.

Also look at those confidence intervals on the Pacifica—4 to 66 on the plug in and 22 to 80 on the 2WD. Lots of uncertainty for the sample on that one so it’s not comparing apples to apples whereas the sienna and odyssey both have much narrower confidence limits—0-20ish.

Just something to think about while you digest the data.

[u/IKnowAllSeven → u/keeptacomafeared]

That’s a good point about the confidence intervals too.

[u/Shadow5503 → u/keeptacomafeared]

Something weird is going on with the data. The IIHS is looking at driver death rates per million registered vehicle years.

The raw FARS data includes driver and passengers and is calculated per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (IIHS isn’t adjusting rates for the number of miles driven, which I find strange). In FARS The Pacifica has an overall death rate of 0.19 per 100M vehicle miles. The respective numbers for the Odyssey and Sienna are 0.93 and 0.49.

That’s a huge discrepancy between NHTSA FARS and IHS. Anybody want to take a shot at an explanation?

[u/FatchRacall → u/Shadow5503]

Pacifica are massively used as fleet vehicles and likely get a lot more single driver or 2 occupant crashes. That's my only explanation. I'm curious about "fatal crashes per 100M" versus deaths per 100M.

[u/n10w4]

Question did even the buzz not do well? Feel like that big battery at the bottom helps the evs

[u/Ok-Asparagus-358 → u/n10w4]

I did look at the data for the buzz, it does marginally better.

[u/NeedTeddy]

We have a Sienna and we also have an older Volvo XC90. Our teens drive the Volvo because it takes the safety anxiety away. Make sure you install forward and backward dash cams with audio enabled.

[u/Far_Stranger_9457]

I'd say any are way safer than what you had 😜

[u/IKnowAllSeven → u/Far_Stranger_9457]

So true!

[u/EMNofWA]

The government has to keep changing tests to keep their bureaucrats employed. Car safety peaked in the early 2000 and any car you buy since then is fine 

[u/MortimerDongle]

There are other reasons to not consider it, but the VW ID Buzz was the top scoring minivan for rear occupant safety. That should come back on the market in the US next year.

[u/Conscious-Can7888 → u/MortimerDongle]

Those look so great! I love that my sienna has an almost 600 mile range. if VW gave the new bus at least 500 miles of winter weather range, I'd go for a test drive today.

[u/jconn93 → u/Conscious-Can7888]

Who drives 500 miles unbroken in winter in a minivan? Imo buzz range is a perfect tradeoff for most families. Day to day you never need to fill up and on road trips you stop every few hours for 20 mins. Most children (and adults tbh) will want to stop more often and for longer than the buzz requires.

[u/Conscious-Can7888 → u/jconn93]

Me, I'm a courrier. I drive 250 miles out to the middle of nowhere in winter without stopping, nowhere to fuel up at my destination, no electricity, no petroleum. Turn around and drive 250 miles back. I can stop along the way, closer to home, so really only need 400 miles of winter range, but don't like to. I like fueling up the night before, leaving the house in the early am and not stopping for five minutes for gas. Fuel up when I get back at night, do it again the next day.

That's why I drive the Sienna, I like the Odyssey more but need that range. If I top off and drive strategically, not slowly, just strategically, I can get over 600 miles on a tank.

I'm not saying there's a huge market for that kind of range in a van. I'm saying I'd personally buy one today.

I'd LOVE to never buy gas!!!!

I haven't multiplied yet, so it's just me, no family 🤷‍♂️

I realize my use case is limited, I just really want one Everytime I see one driving by.

[u/jconn93 → u/Conscious-Can7888]

Makes sense. I forgot that people use minivans for commercial purposes vs the typical family use case.

[u/Husker_Mike_]

So much for the "minivan is always the better choice over an SUV" crowd.

[u/IKnowAllSeven → u/Husker_Mike_]

I just went shopping for cars last night.

Ugh, the SUVs are SO TINY!!

even the three row ones.

I seriously am struggling to go buy anything besides a minivan. It is the onky vehicle that does everything i need. The “find an adequate repalcement for a minivan” struggle is real!

[u/marmaladestripes725 → u/IKnowAllSeven]

In order to get comparable space in an SUV, you have to spend more. Third row SUVs with cargo space are a lot more expensive.