Just like its predecessor, the redesigned 2023 Honda Accord has earned the highest honors, the Top Safety Pick+ award, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is a bigger deal than it may seem, though, as the IIHS has made its requirements more stringent for the award. That means the 2023 Honda Accord is actually even safer than the old one, and the IIHS has the data to show it.
The key areas where the Accord improved are in side impact protection and headlights. The IIHS updated the side-impact test to use a heavier ramming vehicle to simulate the fact that more vehicles on the road are larger, heavier SUVs. The old Accord only got a “Marginal” rating, which wouldn’t be sufficient for the award (“Acceptable” is the minimum requirement). The new one got the best “Good” rating. The Accord’s redesigned headlights are also rated “Good” and are available across the line, whereas the old model had two types with one rated just “Acceptable.”
The rest of the new Accord’s test results were at least as good as before. It passed all the other crash tests with flying colors, and child seat LATCH anchor access was even rated “Good+.” The vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention systems that IIHS tests also performed the same with a “Superior” rating in the day, and a slightly lower “Advanced” rating at night.
Right now, the only other family sedan to achieve the Top Safety Pick+ result is the Toyota Camry. The Hyundai Sonata and Subaru Legacy were both rated as regular Top Safety Picks. But the Subaru Outback, closely related to the Legacy, gets the Top Safety Pick+ award.
The new Accord also already impressed us in most aspects, such as excellent driving dynamics and a much-improved interior. So with it being even safer, it’s easy for us to recommend the Accord. It’s about the best family sedan in the segment.
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