The American Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded the all-new Subaru WRX STI its ‘Top Safety Pick’ status.

The accolade is the highest possible vehicle safety ranking awarded by the IIHS, a non-profit organization which is supported by car insurers in the US.

Subjected to five different types of IIHS crash test designed to evaluate occupant protection in the event of a collision, the new Subaru WRX STI earned the top rating of ‘Good’ in all categories, thereby fulfilling the criteria required of any ‘Top Safety Pick’.

The IIHS crash tests include high-speed front and side crash tests, a rollover test, and evaluations of seat and head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts.

The organization also conducts the ‘small overlap front test’, a crash that replicates what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle or an object like a tree or pylon.

In the test, 25 percent of a car’s front end on the driver side strikes a rigid barrier at 40mph.