The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently announced that the 2026-2027 Nissan Kick, a small SUV, has earned the top safety pick award in the latest round of ratings.
Following a poor rating on Nissan’s redesign in 2025 in the overlap front test, Nissan made changes regarding back seat safety, which earned them the Top Safety Award.
According to IIHS, the small overlap front test is a simulated crash test where the outer front corner of the vehicle collides with another vehicle or object, like a tree or pole. This test measures how well the vehicle protects the passengers on the inside of the car, including the backseat.
Nissan specifically made changes to the seat belt limiters on all new 2026 models. Starting in June 2026, further revisions to the rear seat and seat belt limiters were added, and only those models qualified for the Top Safety Pick award. A seat belt load limiter is essentially a mechanism used to minimize injuries from the seat belt. The Seat Belt Reminders and LATCH Ease of Use tests were not factored into the award criteria, however the Nissan Kicks (built after June 2026) earned a ‘Good’ rating on both these evaluations as well.
IIHS also stated that in order to earn the “plus” attribution, the vehicle would need to achieve the ‘good’ rating in the front crash prevention test, which was only implemented in 2024. The Nissan Kicks received a marginal rating in that test, but achieved ‘good’ ratings in all seven other evaluations. You can find the ratings for the other recently tested vehicle here.
Please note if purchasing this model, it is probably best to check the VIN number and confirm the manufacturing date label on the actual vehicle as well.
