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The best pickup trucks for safety: Work hard, stay safe.
Alex Leanse, WriterRyan Lugo, Illustration ByMotorTrend StaffPhotographerApr 09, 2026
Many pickup trucks are large, heavy, and robustly engineered, providing some built-in safety benefits. That doesn’t necessarily mean every truck is safe. A select few are the best pickup trucks for crash avoidance and protection in testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The IIHS has updated its testing methods, and only two trucks meet the latest standards to earn 2026 Top Safety Pick+ status, the best possible designation. However, two other new trucks still qualify for the second-best Top Safety Pick designation based on 2025 testing procedures. We list those here, along with relevant scores on the NHTSA five-star scale.
2026 Toyota Tundra TRD PRo 1
2026 Toyota Tundra
In terms of truck stuff, the Toyota Tundra is something of an also-ran, trailing its rivals in driving refinement, all-terrain potential, and towing and hauling capability. Then again, none of its main full-size truck rivals offer the same safety reassurance. The Tundra still has merits, like its spacious cabin, strong twin-turbo V-6 with available hybrid assistance, reconfigurable gauge display, and burly exterior design.
In Crew Cab configuration, the Toyota Tundra earns IIHS Top Safety Pick status and a five-star overall safety score. The smaller Extended Cab gets the top Good score in various crashworthiness tests but isn’t rated by NHTSA. All versions are equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 driver assist and active safety features, which include front automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, road sign recognition, and automatic high-beams. On higher-end Tundra models, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert with trailer coverage are added.
Read Our Experts’ Full Toyota Tundra Review
006 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT
2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Some say it’s not a “real” pickup, but the unibody-based Hyundai Santa Cruz might be the right truck for certain drivers. Combining a crossover’s driving manners with bed utility benefits makes the Santa Cruz a nice companion for daily chores, weekend getaways, and home projects. In this category of compact trucks, the Ford Maverick is better, but it doesn’t earn safety scores as high as the Santa Cruz’s.
The 2026 Santa Cruz receives IIHS 2025 Top Safety Pick status and NHTSA five-star overall designation. Its standard safety and assist features include front automatic emergency braking, rear and side cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, and automatic high-beams.
Read Our Experts’ Full Hyundai Santa Cruz Review
016 2024 Tesla Cyberbeast
2026 Tesla Cybertruck
With its sharp-edged stainless-steel body, the Tesla Cybertruck looks like it could cause cuts if you’re not careful. However, occupants are very safe inside, as the 2026 Cybertruck earns Top Safety Pick+ and a five-star overall score. This pickup is unconventional but offers clever storage, a comfortable ride, and excellent handling thanks in part to its all-wheel steering system.
Like every Tesla, the Cybertruck is equipped with many driver assist and active safety features, such as front automatic emergency braking, obstacle-aware acceleration, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and a rain-sensing windshield wiper (singular). Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology is available for an extra cost.
Read Our Experts’ Full Tesla Cybertruck Review
021 2025 Rivian R1T Dual
2026 Rivian R1T
Combining luxurious refinement, off-road capability, and sporty performance, the Rivian R1T is an electric truck that will delight any driver. What’s more, it functions well as a pickup, too, providing lifestyle-ready utility, clever storage, and solid towing capability. Range and charging are pretty good, as well, regardless of which of its several powertrains is equipped.
The 2026 R1T earns Top Safety Pick status using IIHS’ 2025 criteria. Automatic emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beams are among its standard active safety and driver assist features. Rivian continues to develop its self-driving technology, leveraging the R1T’s many cameras, sensors, and redundant controls to ensure safety.
Read Our Experts’ Full Rivian R1T Review
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Alex Leanse
Alex’s earliest memory is of a teal 1993 Ford Aspire, the car that sparked his automotive obsession. He’s never driven that tiny hatchback—at six feet, 10 inches tall, he likely wouldn’t fit—but has assessed hundreds of other vehicles, sharing his insights on MotorTrend as a writer and video host.
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Main Keyword: “safest trucks 2026” (or similar)
Secondary Keywords: “pickup trucks 2026,” “best pickup trucks 2026,” “Toyota Tundra safety,” “Hyundai Santa Cruz safety,” “Tesla Cybertruck safety,” “Rivian R1T safety,” “IIHS safety,” “NHTSA safety,” “pickup safety”
High CPC Keywords (potential): “2026 pickup safety rating,” “best pickup trucks 2026 safety,” “IIHS Top Safety Pick 2026”
Year: Updated to 2026
Content: Fully rewritten with new sentence structures, keeping value and structure, updated to 2026.
Tone: Expert, natural, human.
Final Output (Title + Content Only):
The Pinnacle of Protection: 2026 Pickup Trucks Engineered for Ultimate Safety
Pickup trucks have fundamentally transformed from utilitarian workhorses into versatile lifestyle vehicles. Today’s buyers expect not just power, payload, and performance, but also cutting-edge safety technology. But here’s the critical insight: raw size and build quality alone do not guarantee protection. The distinction between a robust vehicle and a safe one rests squarely on advanced engineering, sophisticated active safety systems, and the rigors of independent third-party testing.
For industry professionals navigating the 2026 model year, understanding which trucks truly lead in safety is paramount. It’s no longer enough to rely on marketing claims or the inertia of a long-standing nameplate. The regulatory environment has tightened, with organizations like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continuously raising the benchmark for crashworthiness and collision avoidance.
The landscape of 2026 pickup truck safety is defined by a sharp dichotomy. The IIHS, specifically, has implemented updated testing protocols that have fundamentally altered the competitive landscape. Only a select handful of trucks have met these stringent requirements to earn the coveted 2026 Top Safety Pick+ designation—the gold standard of automotive safety.
However, the testing evolution means that not all recent models have undergone the full 2026-era scrutiny. Consequently, two other formidable trucks still qualify for the next tier, the Top Safety Pick designation, based on the 2025 testing procedures. Below, we provide a detailed breakdown of these models, supported by their latest performance data from the NHTSA safety rating system.
Navigating the New Era of Pickup Truck Safety Testing
In the context of automotive safety, the IIHS plays a critical role in pushing manufacturers to build vehicles that protect occupants during both impacts and near-misses. In recent years, the IIHS has significantly evolved its testing criteria, specifically targeting three key areas that are especially relevant to pickup truck buyers:
Updated Crashworthiness Metrics: The IIHS has expanded the scenarios evaluated during physical crash tests. These tests include rigorous evaluations of small overlap front crashes—the kind that occur when the vehicle hits the front corners, such as a collision with a pole or a glancing blow with oncoming traffic. They now also evaluate side-impact scenarios with increased severity to account for modern vehicle weights and speeds.
Enhanced Active Safety Requirements: Passive safety, like airbags and structural integrity, is vital, but active safety—the systems designed to prevent the crash from happening—has become the new battlefield. The updated IIHS standards place heavy emphasis on advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). This includes rigorous evaluation of Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems in multiple scenarios: front-to-rear crashes (detecting the car ahead), pedestrian detection, and now, cyclist detection. For pickup trucks, the integration of these systems specifically when towing is increasingly important.
Lighting System Scrutiny: The quality of headlights is a crucial component of the IIHS safety rating. Poor visibility can turn a minor road hazard into a catastrophic accident. In 2026, the IIHS penalizes
