Lexus RC Earns 2018 Top Safety Pick+ Award

ARLINGTON, Virginia, April 24 -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued the following news release:

The 2018 Lexus RC, a large luxury car, qualifies for the Top Safety Pick+ award, thanks to good crashworthiness ratings across the board; standard, superior-rated front crash prevention; and base headlights that earn a good rating.

In an unusual twist, the RC doesn't qualify for the award when equipped with a premium headlight package, which earns only a marginal rating.

To qualify for the 2018 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 and a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also must have a front crash prevention system that earns a superior or advanced rating, as well as good-rated headlights.

The RC's front crash prevention system was upgraded for 2018, moving from an advanced to a superior rating and from optional to standard. The vehicle avoided a collision in IIHS track tests at 12 mph and 25 mph. The system also includes a forward collision warning component that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.

The 2018 RC has standard high-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles. The addition of that feature boosts the coupe's base LED headlights from an acceptable to good rating.

The optional Premium Triple Beam LED Headlamps also get a boost from high-beam assist, but only from poor to marginal. The more expensive headlights provide much less visibility than the standard ones, likely due to an aim problem. Vehicles that come out of the factory with misaimed headlights are a frequent problem, resulting sometimes in poor visibility and sometimes in excessive glare.