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The Acura TLX is all-new for 2021. It's built on a new architecture that we're told is the brand's most rigid other than the NSX. In our first-drive review, we called it "a true enthusiast's sedan." Now, we know that another benefit of the car's redo is improved crash performance, as the new TLX has earned a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The 2021 TLX bettered its predecessor in the challenging driver's-side small-overlap front crash test, achieving a Good score versus the previous model's Acceptable rating. The 2021 TLX also garnered a Good score for the passenger-side small-overlap front crash test (the previous version was not tested) and for the agency's other crash tests as well: moderate-overlap front, side-impact, roof crush and head restraints and seats.

Redesigned headlights earned the 2021 Nissan Sentra a coveted Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Some 2020 models built after the last round of updates get the distinction, too.

Nissan's eighth-generation Sentra made its debut for the 2020 model year with a new platform, a much more muscular design inspired by the bigger Maxima, and better technology inside. We drove it and called it an appealing small car, but the IIHS gave its snazzy headlights an inferior rating. Nissan took the criticism to heart.

Newly-available electronic driving aids earned the 2021 Toyota C-HR a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Japanese firm's smallest crossover missed out on a Plus rating, however.

Toyota made its Safety Sense 2.5 suite of electronic driving aids standard across the full C-HR range for 2021. It bundles a long list of features including a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, road sign assist, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping technology, and automatic high beams. It's the first feature (called PCS w/PD in alphabet-soupese) that made a difference from the Institute's standpoint. It allowed the C-HR to avoid collisions at 12 and 25 mph, and it either avoided or at least slowed down for a dummy in three separate tests.

In addition to a stylish design and hybrid fuel economy, the 2021 Toyota Venza can now brag about its safety ratings. The IIHS has awarded the crossover its second-highest Top Safety Pick rating for its all-around superb safety scores. The only thing holding it back from the highest Top Safety Pick + rating is slightly subpar standard headlights.

In the Venza's favor are crash test ratings that earn the top "Good" rating across the board. Also impressive are its collision prevention ratings. Tested for car-to-car and car-to-pedestrian crash prevention, the Venza's suite of automatic braking and warning systems earned the highest "Superior" score for both. Those systems are all standard on all Venza's, too. Finally, the child seat LATCH anchor access is rated "Good +."

The 2021 Honda Odyssey has achieved the highest award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Top Safety Pick+. Although the Odyssey is not a new generation for 2021, it does benefit from several changes, including newly standard active-safety features and new LED headlamps that appear across the lineup.

Previously, the 2020 Odyssey performed well in all six crash tests, achieving the highest, Good, score in all six. It's halogen headlamps, however, were rated Marginal and Poor (depending on the version). And its collision-avoidance system had not been tested. The 2021 Odyssey has LED headlamps as standard, and they earned an Acceptable score. Additionally, the Odyssey's collision-avoidance system is now included on all trims, and it earned a Superior rating in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests. The Odyssey also received a Good+ score for LATCH ease of use — the best among minivans — although that is not part of the criteria for a TSP+ award.

Toyota's redesigned 2020 Highlander midsize SUV has earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with the familiar caveat that the rating applies only to certain headlight packages available in certain trim levels.

The fourth-generation Highlander comes with three headlight options. IIHS rates the static LED reflectors, the base version that comes on the L, LE and XLE models, as poor, which is why the crossover missed out on being named a Top Safety Pick+. The static LED projector headlights on the Limited and Hybrid Limited trims rated acceptable, while the curve-adapted LED projectors on the Platinum versions earned good ratings.

The 2020 Mazda CX-30 has come out of the gate swinging on the safety front, earning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award in its first year on the market. 

Mazda's new baby crossover earned a "Good" rating in all six of the Institute's crashworthiness categories (driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint) and its accident avoidance system was rated "Superior."