IIHS names 22 cars as Top Safety Pick Plus

Just when it looked like every new car on the road would earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick Plus designation, the rules get changed and the winners are winnowed down considerably.

Only 22 models now earn the IIHS' top award, coveted enough that it shows up endlessly in car advertising. To have won it, cars not only had to ace front, side, head restraint and roof crash tests, but the "small overlap crash test," which simulates crashing into a pole on the driver's side of the car.

That last test has been bedeviling automakers since it was introduced. Cars that had been on recommended lists for years suddenly found themselves failing. Automakers scrambled and make sure they could pass. Hence, Consumer Reports magazine today restores Toyota Corolla to its recommended list now that it passes the IIHS tests.

"We've made it more difficult for manufacturers this year," says IIHS President Adrian Lund in a statement. "Following a gradual

phase-in, the small overlap crash is now part of our basic battery of tests, and good or acceptable performance should

be part of every vehicle's safety credentials."

Those passing all the test include:

Honda Civic hybridMazda3 built after October 2013Toyota Prius built after November 2013Ford FusionChrysler 200Honda Accord 2-doorHonda Accord 4-doorMazda6Subaru LegacySubaru OutbackInfiniti Q50Lincoln MKZVolvo S60Volvo S80Mazda CX-5 built after October 2013Mitsubishi OutlanderSubaru ForesterToyota HighlanderAcura MDXMercedes-Benz M-Class built after August 2013Volvo XC60Honda Odyssey