Rear-seat belt tweaks moved the Nissan Kicks from Poor to Good, while the Audi Q3, Toyota RAV4 and Trailblazer still fall short.
The redesigned Nissan Kicks first picked up a Poor score in the updated moderate overlap front test that focuses on second row protection in 2025. After Nissan revised the rear seat belts on Kicks models built after June 2026, the crossover earned a Good rating and now carries the Top Safety Pick award.
The Audi Q3, Toyota RAV4 and Chevrolet Trailblazer went through the same updated test, and none of them pulled it off. All three missed the award, and the reason comes down to how well their rear seats protect a passenger in a frontal crash.
After the redesigned 2025 Nissan Kicks earned a Poor rating in the updated moderate overlap front test, Nissan then made additional rear seat and seat belt load limiter changes on Kicks units built after June 2026. Those later production vehicles now carry a Good rating in the same test, and the current Top Safety Pick designation applies specifically to 2026 and 2027 models built from that point forward.
That is a narrow window as two Kicks crossovers with the same badge and model year can carry different crash test outcomes depending on when the factory built them. Checking a VIN or build date is the only way to know which belt hardware is actually in the car.
2026 and 2027 Nissan Kicks models built after June 2026 were the only vehicles in this test group to walk away with the IIHS award, while the Q3, Trailblazer and RAV4 all came up short.
The redesigned 2026 Audi Q3 rated Poor in the updated moderate overlap front test, the same failing grade that kept the pre-fix Kicks off the podium. That rating applies to 2026 and 2027 Q3 models built after May 2026, when Audi modified the rear seat belts but still saw the rear lap belt slip off the pelvis in testing.
The Chevrolet Trailblazer did not clear the bar either. It carries a Marginal overall rating in the updated moderate overlap front test and mixes Good and Acceptable scores elsewhere, so its crash and equipment record does not reach the award threshold.
The Toyota RAV4 is the closest miss of the three. Its hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions earn Acceptable and Marginal overall ratings respectively in the updated moderate overlap front test, and their other crashworthiness and crash avoidance scores are a mix of Good and Acceptable. The heavier plug-in model came out worse in the same crash than its gas-electric sibling.
IIHS overhauled the moderate overlap front test in 2022 by adding a second crash test dummy in the rear seat behind the driver instead of using only one in front. The group then tightened the scoring rules again in 2024 to focus more on how well rear belts stay in place and how much force they put on a passenger, which is why these recent redesigns are still missing the mark in the back seat.
Under today’s Top Safety Pick rules, a vehicle needs Good ratings in the updated moderate overlap front and side tests, at least Acceptable headlights, and an advanced or superior front crash prevention system. That checklist explains why the Kicks now stands alone in this small crossover group while the Q3, RAV4 and Trailblazer fall short.
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Source:
IIHS
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