2019 Mazda 3 Hatchback and Sedan Earn Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Awards

ARLINGTON, Virginia, May 9 -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued the following news release:

The 2019 Mazda 3 hatchback and sedan both earn Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The hatchback earns the award with standard equipment, while the sedan qualifies when equipped with an optional front crash prevention system.

To qualify for a 2019 Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.

Both variants of the small car were redesigned for the 2019 model year and were rated for the first time in the newest IIHS crash test configuration -- the passenger-side small overlap front test. Both earn a good rating in this test.

The 2019 hatchback variant comes with a standard superior-rated front crash prevention system. The sedan is available with an optional superior-rated system. Both cars avoided collisions in 12 mph and 25 mph IIHS track tests. The systems include forward collision warning components that meet criteria set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Both the hatchback and sedan earn acceptable ratings for all available headlight options, meaning consumers can expect similar headlight performance on the base models and premium trim lines. All available headlight options are LED projectors, and all but one feature high-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles. The Mazda 3 sedan's base headlight option doesn't come with this feature.