Federal-style crash statistics rarely single out the car in a driveway, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety did exactly that in July 2026. Its table counts driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, with an average near 37 across all models. Here are twelve cars that sit far above that line.
1. Kia Rio: Minicar Tops the Chart
A IIHS ranking put the Rio at 170 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, the highest figure in the July 2026 table and more than four times the 37 average. The rate covers 2023 and equivalent earlier models, using 2021-24 crashes.
A subcompact that small gives its driver little structure to absorb a crash, and the margin over every other model is wide. Shoppers weighing a cheap new minicar should treat size as a safety variable, not just a price point. The report’s broader message is that small cars and powerful-engine models dominate the worst rates.
2. Nissan Versa: Cheap Sedan, Near the Top
The small Versa recorded 164 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, IIHS second-highest rate behind only the Rio, which makes it the second-deadliest model for its own driver.
Entry-level price and low weight are the common thread in the top of this table. Buyers drawn to the Versa for its sticker should weigh that against a death rate more than four times the 37 average. Both of the top two entries are small, inexpensive cars, which suggests the pattern reflects vehicle size and buyer profile together instead of one bad design choice.
3. Chrysler 300: Worst of the Large Cars
Among large cars, the rear-drive Chrysler 300 posted 132 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, IIHS large-car table for that size class and well above the 37 average.
Size did not protect its drivers here, which points toward power, rear-wheel drive and the kind of driving the car invites. Owners of V8 versions face the greatest exposure. The 300 also shows that the problem is not limited to small cars; a heavy sedan with a strong engine can still produce a rate several times the average, which matters for anyone shopping the used market.
4. Dodge Charger: Hemi Power, Hard Numbers
The Charger HEMI 2WD logged 127 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, and IIHS researchers attribute that to powerful engines and marketing that attracts aggressive drivers.
The finding is about the pairing of horsepower and behavior rather than a structural flaw. Insurance quotes for these cars tend to reflect it, and drivers should expect that scrutiny. The same logic covers its sibling coupe on this list, and the rate is a reminder that the label on a trim level can predict risk about as well as the crash-test rating on the window sticker.
5. Dodge Challenger: Muscle Car, Heavy Toll
The 2WD Challenger logged 125 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, reproduced IIHS table that ranks fifth-worst across the entire table.
Another rear-drive coupe with a large engine lands near the top, reinforcing the pattern that performance-oriented models carry outsized risk for those behind the wheel. Because it shares a platform and a power-focused identity with the Charger and 300, the three Stellantis-era models together show how one engineering family can dominate a ranking of the deadliest cars.
6. Kia Forte: Compact With a High Rate
Kia’s compact sedan posted 120 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years in the IIHS 2026 death-rate table, roughly three times the 37 average.
The Forte shares the pattern of small, affordable sedans clustering high on the list. Its rate sits far above many larger vehicles, a gap worth weighing for budget-focused buyers and young drivers. Its place on the list is notable because the Forte is an ordinary commuter, not a performance model, which shows that high rates are not confined to fast cars and can follow plain economy transportation too.
7. Chevrolet Malibu: Midsize, Not Safe by Default
Chevrolet’s midsize sedan recorded 116 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, according to a CarPro summary of the IIHS data.
A bigger body did not guarantee a low rate, so size class alone is a poor shortcut. Used-car shoppers should check model-specific figures instead of assuming a midsize sedan is safe. The listing also complicates the idea that a family sedan is a low-risk default. Its rate is well above the average, which is why the model-level numbers deserve a look before any purchase or lease decision.
8. Nissan Altima: Popular Sedan, High Rate
The Altima logged 105 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, as reported figures in IIHS’s latest analysis, almost three times the 37 average.
As one of the best-selling sedans, its rate touches a large pool of drivers. Families shopping for a used Altima should weigh that exposure against the lower prices these cars command. Nissan ends up with several entries in this gallery, so shoppers cross-shopping the brand’s sedans may want to compare each one against the average instead of treating the lineup as interchangeable.
9. Nissan Maxima: Tied at 105
Nissan’s flagship sedan landed at the same 105 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years as the Altima, a result CarPro also also reported from IIHS’s data.
The tie puts two Nissan sedans level in the middle of the list. Power and driver behavior are the usual suspects in such findings, so the numbers deserve attention in any purchase decision. Because the Maxima is sold as a sportier, more powerful sedan, the tie hints that engine output and driver behavior may matter as much as size, though the data alone cannot separate those factors.
10. Kia K5: Midsize Sedan at 94
The K5 midsize sedan posted 94 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, per the reproduced rankings of IIHS’s highest-rate table.
That is still about two and a half times the 37 average. Buyers should note that a newer design does not erase a rate built on years of crash data. The figure also sits within the group of cars the institute flagged as having above-average rates, which means a late-model design is not an automatic shield, and used-car shoppers should read the rate for the exact model.
11. Chevrolet Camaro: Performance Car, 88 Deaths
Listed as a performance car, the Camaro recorded 88 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years in the CarPro breakdown of IIHS’s 2026 report.
Sporty rear-drive coupes keep turning up in this ranking. Prospective owners should plan for the demands of a high-output car and the added risk it brings its driver. Its rate is lower than the Charger and Challenger but still more than double the average, so even the mildest muscle-car entry on this list carries a clear penalty compared with typical passenger cars.
12. Hyundai Sonata: Lowest of the Twelve
Hyundai’s midsize sedan recorded 83 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, drawn from the IIHS table of the highest-rate list.
Even at the bottom of this group, the Sonata runs more than double the 37 average, so a place at the end of the ranking is no comfort. It is the least dire entry here, yet the margin over the average is still large, and it shows how even mainstream family sedans from major brands can sit on a list built around the highest driver death rates.
More from Morning Overview
- Hybrids have 15% fewer problems than gas cars, while EVs and plug-in hybrids have about 80% more, Consumer Reports finds
- Regulators cleared the first U.S. small modular reactor, 4 months early
- Lake Powell sank to a record 3,517 feet, nearing the level that stops Glen Canyon Dam’s turbines
- Seven of Earth’s nine planetary boundaries are breached, and all seven are worsening
