5 New Family Minivans Ranked From Finest To Worst IIHS Safety Ratings – Jalopnik

While SUVs and crossovers dominate new automobile gross sales, they don’t seem to be the one spacious folks movers out there. Minivans are nonetheless on the market, with virtually 400,000 patrons choosing these packing containers on wheels in 2025. However, not like utilities, the minivan market has solely a handful of gamers, making comparability buying simpler. And given the deal with household transportation, the section’s patrons usually deal with security. One set of requirements comes from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This non-profit group claims to fill testing gaps left by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 5-Star Safety Ratings.

In current testing, IIHS ranked the Toyota Sienna on high, adopted by the Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Voyager, Chrysler Pacifica, and Kia Carnival. We’ll stroll you thru the main points and assist make sense of the IIHS rankings, which skip the NHTSA star system in favor of plainly worded qualifiers (good, acceptable, marginal, and poor). These grades apply to eight completely different IIHS testing classes. The small overlap entrance take a look at measures safety when 25% of the automobile’s width strikes a hard and fast barrier, whereas the reasonable overlap take a look at covers 40% and crashes right into a deformable barrier. For facet testing, IIHS sends an SUV-like sled into the automobile’s driver’s facet at 37 mph. The group’s headlight scores assess illumination on straightaways and curves.

On the know-how facet, the vehicle-to-vehicle entrance crash prevention take a look at assesses how the ahead collision warning and computerized emergency braking methods reply to approaching automobiles. None of the 5 minivans coated right here underwent that evaluation, however most did obtain a pedestrian crash prevention score, which analyzes pedestrian detection functionality in day and evening settings. Core security is measured by how effectively the seat belt reminders work and the way simple child-seat set up is with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children).

The 2026 Toyota Sienna earns the highest spot with extra good IIHS security scores than some other minivan within the group. These areas included the small overlap entrance and facet assessments, plus assessments of headlights, seatbelt reminder, and the LATCH system (a good-plus score for LATCH). However, the Sienna wasn’t all thumbs up. It solely earned a marginal score within the reasonable overlap entrance take a look at and a suitable score for its pedestrian-detection system. It’s necessary to notice that the IIHS based mostly its findings on a 2021 Sienna, but it surely’s commonplace for testing organizations to hold ahead security scores from earlier mannequin years when a mannequin hasn’t been redesigned or considerably up to date.

Interestingly, regardless of the standard family-hauling duties for minivans, none amongst these 5, together with the Sienna, obtained a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ designation from IIHS. The necessities for this standing embrace a great score in all three crash assessments (small overlap entrance, reasonable overlap entrance, and facet). For comparability, the Sienna obtained an total 5/5-star score from the NHTSA. Meanwhile, the federal government gave this Toyota a 4-star rating for its total frontal crash efficiency. This take a look at combines driver and entrance seat passenger security right into a single score based mostly on a simulated head-on collision between two comparable automobiles at 35 mph. The Sienna aced NHTSA’s facet crash take a look at, with a five-out-of-five rating.

The 2027 Honda Odyssey ranks second in IIHS’s minivan security roundup — the 2026 mannequin 12 months additionally had the identical outcomes, based mostly on an evaluation of a 2018 Odyssey. This is simply as a result of it earned a bottom-of-the-barrel score within the reasonable overlap entrance take a look at. In specific, the evaluation flagged poor efficiency in head and neck safety and a marginal grade for stopping chest damage (each for rear passengers). Scores had been good for the small overlap entrance and facet assessments. The Odyssey additionally earned a great score for seat belt reminders and a good-plus score for LATCH ease of use.

Headlight testing may be difficult, as completely different teams have completely different requirements. But amongst these 5 minivans, solely the Sienna obtained a great grade for headlight functionality; the Odyssey obtained a suitable score. In its evaluate of the Odyssey, the IIHS flagged the low beams for illumination that was “inadequate on the gradual left curve,” and excessive beams that had been “inadequate on the sharp left curve.” The Odyssey did outperform the Sienna in NHTSA’s testing, although: For the 2025 mannequin 12 months (the newest version examined), Honda’s minivan earned a 5-star total entrance security score, matching the Sienna’s total rating and side-crash outcomes (5 stars for each).

Chrysler introduced again the Voyager minivan for the 2020 mannequin 12 months as a low-cost various to the Pacifica, however it will likely be discontinued in 2026. However, in IIHS’s pecking order, the 2026 Voyager sits above the 2027 Pacifica. This is not essentially simply due to increased scores, but in addition partly due to testing inconsistencies. This ultimate Voyager did not obtain the entrance reasonable overlap take a look at (the Pacifica did). In addition, the Voyager earned a suitable score for LATCH use, whereas the 2027 Pacifica wasn’t graded on this space (the 2026 mannequin obtained the identical rating because the Voyager). IIHS’s scores for the Voyager are based mostly on a 2017 Pacifica.

Like each automobile within the group, the Voyager obtained a great score for the small overlap entrance take a look at. However, it obtained a poor grade for headlight perform. IIHS acknowledged that visibility was “inadequate” in numerous low-beam and high-beam assessments. For entrance pedestrian crash prevention, the Voyager was ranked as acceptable. NHTSA did not take a look at the 2026 Voyager, however the 2025 version earned 5-star scores for total security and for frontal and facet crash assessments.

The facelifted Pacifica will likely be Chrysler’s solely providing for 2027. Unsurprisingly, its IIHS efficiency matches the Voyager the place testing overlaps (a great score within the small overlap entrance take a look at and a suitable rating within the facet crash take a look at and entrance pedestrian crash prevention). One quirk seems in IIHS’s report: the 2027 Pacifica is tagged with a poor grade for headlight efficiency (a carryover from a take a look at of a 2023 Pacifica). However, the 2027 mannequin 12 months will get a reworked entrance finish with new headlights (for all however the base trim), which IIHS would not tackle.

In addition, the 2027 Pacifica obtained a marginal rating within the reasonable overlap entrance take a look at, an analysis lacking from the Voyager’s IIHS outcomes. These findings present acceptable head and neck security however solely marginal safety in opposition to chest damage, which lowers the general score. IIHS did not take a look at the Pacifica’s LATCH system. Predictably, the Pacifica has the identical NHTSA security scores because the Voyager (5 stars for total, entrance, and facet crash testing), although this covers the 2025 mannequin 12 months.

Among these 5 minivans, IIHS scores put the 2026 Kia Carnival final. Its solely good grade is within the small overlap entrance take a look at, which is similar because the Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager. Meanwhile, IIHS gave this Kia a suitable score for side-crash efficiency, seatbelt reminders, and LATCH use. The sole marginal grade comes from the reasonable overlap entrance take a look at, which IIHS famous as producing decrease marks for head, neck, and chest damage safety. These marginal scores come from an analysis of a 2023 Carnival, and it did not contemplate headlight illumination or the entrance pedestrian crash prevention system. The Carnival, like each Chryslers, solely had IIHS scoring in 5 of eight areas, whereas the Sienna and Odyssey had been graded in seven classes.

In NHTSA testing, alternatively, the 2026 Carnival obtained a 5-star total security score and the identical grade in side-crash security efficiency. However, the general entrance security rating wasn’t as excessive. The entrance passenger take a look at produced a 4-star outcome, together with a 5-star score for the driving force, which introduced the mixed score to 4 stars.