The Subaru BRZ has officially received a Top Safety Pick+ (Plus) award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for 2022. This is great news for sports car buyers who secretly want to make sure their next car is as safe as it is. is. is fun. While the Subaru BRZ’s safety scores have always been better than average, this marks the first time the coupe has been awarded the highest Top Safety Pick+ (Plus) rating.
What does Top Safety Pick Plus mean?
“To earn a 2022 TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, vehicles must receive a ‘Good’ rating in each of IIHS’ six crashworthiness ratings; ‘Good’ or ‘Acceptable’ headlamp ratings and available frontal crash prevention that achieves ‘Advanced’ or ‘Superior’ ratings in both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian assessments. The ‘Plus’ is awarded to models supplied exclusively with ‘Good’ or ‘Acceptable’ headlamps.”
A Top Safety Pick award is still quite impressive for a car to receive – the Top Safety Pick+ designation is reserved only for the safest and most reliable cars. In 2022, seven Subaru models received safety awards from the IIHS, including:
- 2022 Subaru BRZ (TSP+)
- 2022 Subaru Ascent (TSP+)
- 2022 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid (TSP+)
- 2022 Subaru Legacy (TSP+)
- 2022 Subaru Outback (TSP+)
- 2022 Subaru Cross Trek (TSP)
- 2022 Subaru Impreza hatchback (TSP)
Safety and driver assistance features in the 2022 BRZ
One of the changes that took the Subaru BRZ 2022 to new heights of safety was the addition of EyeSight® Driver Assist technology as standard on all BRZ Premium and Limited models with an automatic transmission. (I’m not sure if that designation means manual models don’t receive the Top Safety Pick+ award or if they just don’t offer EyeSight as standard.)
EyeSight includes traffic monitoring, advanced cruise control, lane warning and pre-collision braking. The 2022 BRZ also offers the available STARLINK Safety and Security, which can alert emergency services in the event of an accident, start your engine remotely and even assist with navigation and reservations.
Thomas J. Doll, President and CEO of Subaru of America, said, “Our top priority at BRZ is to provide customers with an exciting and engaging sports car with the highest safety standards.”
Is the Subaru BRZ a good car?
Even without the highest safety ratings, the 2022 Subaru BRZ is the best first sports car you can get for the money. It’s a bargain at under $30,000 and combines fun to drive with decent fuel economy and good reliability for a sports car. The BRZ is a relatively new coupe, having only been around since 2013, but it has gained a solid following.
Subaru’s coupe is so popular that buyers bought early models as soon as the 2022 versions were released. You can’t even order a BRZ anymore.
Other 2022 Subaru BRZ Safety Ratings
The BRZ Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS is one of the first fully formed safety ratings for the 2022 model. At the time of writing, there is not yet an overall safety assessment from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the 2022 BRZ. However, the sports car has been awarded four stars in terms of safety for both Front Driver Side and Front Passenger Side.
We look forward to releasing additional safety assessments of the Subaru BRZ soon.
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