2022 Toyota Corolla Earns Highest Safety Rating

The 2022 Toyota Corolla sedan and hatchback are the latest recipients of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest safety rating. The vehicles earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the organization after Toyota made improvements to the LED projector headlights on the vehicles.

Both the Corolla sedan and hatchback earn the highest safety rating with their base trims, at least for vehicles built after November 2021. This is surprising, as other vehicles require consumers to move up to higher trims to get the safest vehicle in the lineup. That’s not the case with the 2022 Corolla, as the base L sedan and SE hatchback met the IIHS’ requirements without any optional extras.

Previously, the 2021 Corolla sedan and hatchback were named Top Safety Pick vehicles, missing out on the plus designation because of the Marginal-rated headlights that are standard. Corolla models built after November 2021 now come with Acceptable-rated headlights as standard, which is good enough for the plus designation. To be named a Top Safety Pick vehicle, cars, at a minimum, need to have Acceptable-rated headlights somewhere throughout the lineup.

Other compact vehicles in the class that earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS include the 2022 Honda Civic (hatchback and sedan), 2022 Honda Insight, 2022 Mazda3 (hatchback and sedan), and 2022 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. Compared to those options, the Corolla is the most affordable of the bunch with a starting price tag of $21,200 (with destination) for the sedan. The Mazda3 costs $21,815, the Civic starts at $22,350, and the Crosstrek Hybrid carries a starting price tag of $37,020.

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Pictured: 2022 Toyota Corolla