Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: New Lexus SUV Earns Top Safety Pick Award

ARLINGTON, Virginia, May 10 -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued the following news release:

The 2019 Lexus UX, a new small SUV, earns the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick award when equipped with specific headlights.

To qualify for the 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.

The UX earns good ratings in all six crashworthiness evaluations.

The new SUV comes with a standard superior-rated front crash prevention system. The UX avoided collisions in IIHS track tests at 12 mph and 25 mph and has a forward collision warning component that meets criteria set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The UX is available with two headlight options. Its available curve-adaptive headlights earn an acceptable rating in IIHS evaluations. Its base headlights earn a poor rating, largely due to excessive glare from the low beams. Both headlight systems have high-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles.

The UX is the second model from Toyota's luxury brand to earn a 2019 safety award, joining the ES, which earns the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award. The UX would have qualified for the "plus" award if it were available with good-rated headlights.