The Nissan Pathfinder and its luxury brand cousin, the Infiniti QX60, have each secured the Top Safety Pick Plus designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The pair received substantial redesigns for 2022 after a model year off: The Pathfinder’s brought a bolder exterior, new transmission and more user-friendly tech, while the QX60 was elevated to better compete with luxury rivals. The agency says the Pathfinder’s driver’s seat has been modified to fix what limited it to a Top Safety Pick in 2020; all 2023 QX60 and Pathfinder models qualify for the Top Safety Pick Plus award along with 2022 Pathfinder models built after July 2022.
Related: Here’s Every Car That Earned an IIHS Top Safety Award for 2022
Acing the Crash Tests
To earn an IIHS safety award, a vehicle must pass a series of six crash tests: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint. It must also earn advanced or superior ratings for its front crash prevention system in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. A vehicle’s headlights determine whether or not it earns a Plus designation: Top Safety Picks must have at least one good or acceptable headlight system, while earning a Top Safety Pick Plus requires good or acceptable headlights for all trims.
Recently, the IIHS has implemented two updated evaluations to determine a vehicle’s award eligibility for 2023: A new side impact crash test uses a heavier barrier that moves faster than the previous simulation’s to better represent a mid-size SUV or pickup truck; both the Pathfinder and QX60 scored good ratings there. The agency has also launched a nighttime evaluation for pedestrian detection systems, and the Pathfinder was the only vehicle among 23 tested to avoid a pedestrian collision under all testing conditions, earning a superior rating.
