2023 Subaru WRX earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award

The 2023 Subaru WRX was fully redesigned for the 2022 model year, and in addition to becoming a more refined sport sedan, it apparently became a safer one. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the WRX and awarded it Top Safety Pick+ honors. That’s an improvement over the previous model that only got the plain Top Safety Pick accolade.

The main improvement is in the headlight department, where the base LED units were scored “Acceptable,” and the optional LED ones “Good.” The weak spot on the previous model was its standard halogen headlights were rated “Poor.” Subaru apparently did a better job with child seat anchor access, too, as that rating has increased from “Acceptable” to “Good+.” The new WRX also earned top marks in all crash tests and in forward collision prevention.

There are a good number of sporty cars similar to the WRX with the Top Safety Pick+. Subaru’s own BRZ and its twin the Toyota 86 are among them, along with the VW Golf R and Honda Civic, which by extension includes the Si. The Hyundai Elantra, and thus the N, as well as the VW GTI just get the Top Safety Pick rating.