Rear-end crashes can injure necks even when a vehicle shines in other crash tests, and IIHS has begun measuring how well seats and head restraints guard against whiplash. Its first batch covered 18 small SUVs, and the results ranged from Good down to Poor. Here are thirteen of them, from the Tucson that flunked to the models that earned top marks.
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1. Hyundai Tucson: Poor Despite Good Crash Scores
The Hyundai Tucson landed in the Poor tier for whiplash prevention, collecting 10 demerits in the IIHS Tucson whiplash rating. The tested seat was a power synthetic leather seat, and the result applies to 2025-26 models.
That grade stands out because the same SUV earns Good in the institute’s small-overlap and side tests. Strong crash structure, in other words, did not carry over to protecting occupants’ necks in a rear-end hit, which is why this is the headline failure.
2. Ford Bronco Sport: The Highest Demerit Count
Ford’s small SUV finished Poor with 12 total demerits, the most of any SUV in the first batch, according to its IIHS Bronco Sport page. The tested seat was a power cloth seat, and the rating covers 2025-26 models.
Rugged styling offers no shelter from this test. Anyone shopping the Bronco Sport should treat the whiplash result as a real gap in rear-impact protection, since the score sits at the bottom of the entire group of 18 small SUVs evaluated.
3. Mazda CX-50: Good Crashes, Poor Necks
Mazda’s CX-50 was rated Poor for whiplash prevention with 11 demerits, as shown on the Mazda CX-50 ratings page. The tested power cloth seat applies to 2025-26 models.
The result arrives despite Good small-overlap and side-crash ratings, repeating a pattern seen with the Tucson. High marks in other tests clearly say little about how the seat and head restraint cushion a rear-end collision, which is exactly what this newer evaluation was built to measure.
4. Nissan Rogue: Marginal With a Split Score
The Nissan Rogue earned a Marginal rating for whiplash prevention with 8 demerits, four in each load case, per its IIHS Rogue evaluation. A power cloth seat was tested, and the rating applies to 2025-27 models.
Marginal sits one step above Poor but two steps short of Good, a tier that only a handful of rivals reached. The even split between load cases suggests the shortfall is consistent rather than tied to a single crash severity, which makes it harder to dismiss as a quirk.
5. BMW X1: Premium Badge, Marginal Grade
BMW’s X1 received a Marginal whiplash rating with 9 demerits, according to the IIHS X1 rating. The test used a power synthetic leather seat, and the result covers 2025 models.
One demerit more than the Rogue’s tally, the X1 shows that a luxury price tag does not guarantee a better seat. Shoppers weighing small premium SUVs should note that it trails the Good-rated Audi Q3 on this measure, and that the gap is a meaningful one.
6. Chevrolet Equinox: Acceptable, One Step Short
In its first round of whiplash-prevention results, IIHS rated the 2025-26 Chevrolet Equinox Acceptable, listed in the IIHS whiplash test announcement. That is one step below Good.
The Equinox therefore avoids the failing tiers while still leaving room for improvement. Acceptable was the most common outcome across the 18 SUVs tested, so the Chevrolet lands in the middle of the pack rather than at either extreme, a respectable but unspectacular showing.
7. Honda CR-V: The Only 2024 Model Tested
The 2024-25 Honda CR-V earned Acceptable, not Good, in IIHS whiplash prevention, as the first whiplash test results show. It was the only 2024 model in the group.
Missing the top tier is notable for such a popular nameplate. The rating is a reminder that whiplash performance depends on seat and head-restraint design, which can differ sharply from a vehicle’s other crash results, so shoppers should check each score separately.
8. Kia Sportage: A Solid Middle Grade
IIHS rated the 2025-26 Kia Sportage Acceptable in its first whiplash-prevention results, one step below Good, according to the IIHS test launch news.
That puts the Sportage ahead of the Hyundai Tucson, which flunked the same evaluation. The split shows that similar vehicles can have very different seats, and buyers comparing small SUVs should look at each individual rating rather than assume one grade covers an entire segment. Both ratings come from the same first batch.
9. Mitsubishi Outlander: Acceptable but Not Good
The 2025-26 Mitsubishi Outlander was rated Acceptable in IIHS’s first whiplash-prevention results, one step below Good, as listed in the IIHS whiplash announcement.
The rating keeps the Outlander out of the bottom tiers, though it does not match the four SUVs that reached Good. For shoppers weighing small SUVs, the grade signals decent but improvable protection in a rear-end crash, with room for the seat design to get better. The result applies to 2025-26 models.
10. Toyota RAV4: One of Only Four Good Scores
Toyota’s RAV4 is one of only 4 of 18 small SUVs to earn Good for whiplash prevention, with 2 demerits, according to the IIHS RAV4 rating. The tested seat was a manual cloth seat, and the result applies to 2025 models.
A top grade for such a widely recognized nameplate offers a clear contrast with the Poor-rated Tucson and Bronco Sport. The manual cloth seat is the one tested, so other trims may not be identical, and the rating applies to 2025 models only.
11. Subaru Forester: Just One Demerit
The Subaru Forester earned Good for whiplash prevention with only 1 demerit, the fewest listed, on its IIHS Forester page. A power cloth seat was tested, and the rating applies to 2025-26 models.
That makes the Forester the best performer among the small SUVs examined here. While the Tucson fell to Poor with ten demerits, Subaru’s seat and head restraint combination kept neck-injury risk to a minimum in the institute’s test.
12. Hyundai Ioniq 5: The Lone Good EV
Hyundai’s electric Ioniq 5 earned Good for whiplash prevention with 3 demerits, the only EV among the four Good scorers, based on its IIHS Ioniq 5 evaluation. The tested power cloth seat applies to 2025-27 models.
The result is a bright spot for Hyundai, whose Tucson failed the same test. It also suggests that going electric neither helps nor hurts here, since seat and head-restraint design appear to drive the outcome.
13. Audi Q3: Good With a Caveat
The Audi Q3 earned Good for whiplash prevention with 3 demerits, all in the 24 km/h load case, per the IIHS Audi Q3 rating. The tested seat was a power synthetic leather seat, and the result covers 2025 models.
All of the demerits arising in a single load case hints at where the design could be polished further. Even so, the Q3 clears the bar and outperforms the BMW X1, which was rated Marginal.
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