These 3 Upgrades Earn 2019 Honda HR-V - IIHS Top Safety Pick Rating

American Honda Motors announced Thursday that the well selling world compact platform 2019 Honda HR-V was awarded the IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) Top Safety Pick rating, and what that means to you the consumer. Let’s take a look.

Retrospective: Honda HR-V

I was fortunate to attend the original press reveal of Honda’s segment breaching compact crossover In Miami Beach back in 2015. The launch of Honda HR-V set the segment bar for Mazda, Toyota, and others to emulate. HR-V was, as is not unusual for Honda, A bit ahead of the compact crossover wave.

At that time I interviewed American Honda lead Jeff Conrad, who was bullish on Honda’s Fit platformed HR-V crossover, and speculated on the optional all-wheel drive coupe-styled hatchback to sell 75,000 units or more per year. Me, I was skeptical until I drove one. Read that drive review here. With the cosmetic and engineering upgrade and refresh of Honda’s smallest crossover, HR-V continues to sell best in class.

And, although all makers now present a compact crossover in the lineup, Honda HR-V continues to outsell the competition thanks to outstanding standard feature value and price point. And, it’s fun to drive.

For 2019 buyers will find Honda Sensing, a full driver assist and active safety suite standard equipped at all trim levels. Thanks to improvements made in frame rigidity, 2019 Honda HR-V scores higher in frontal crash performance. Also, following last year’s introduction of headlamp visibility ratings, HR-V comes to market with a brighter headlamp option.

According to American Honda Motors

The 2019 Honda HR-V has earned a TOP SAFETY PICK (TSP) rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), when equipped with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights, including the highest possible rating of "Good" in all six crashworthiness tests and a "Superior" rating for its available Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™), part of the Honda Sensing® suite of driver assistive and safety technologies.

Refreshed for the 2019 model year, the 2019 HR-V received numerous updates to its structure to improve frontal crash performance, as demonstrated in the IIHS' small and moderate front overlap tests. In addition, Honda Sensing is now standard on EX and above trims, which, in addition to CMBS, includes Forward Collision Warning; Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) incorporating Lane Departure Warning (LDW); Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS); and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). On the new-for-2019 HR-V Touring trim, multi-element LED headlights earned an Acceptable rating in the IIHS evaluation.

The 2019 HR-V is the sixth Honda model to receive a top safety rating from the IIHS. The 2019 Honda Accord, CR-V, PIlot and Odyssey all received TSP, while Insight earned a TOP SAFETY PICK+, the Institute’s highest rating. Separately, every Honda model that has been fully evaluated in NHTSA's 2019 model year NCAP testing, including the 2019 HR-V, has received a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score 1.

Photo and specification attributions AHMC 2019