New IIHS Report Reveals the Cars With the Highest Driver Death Rates

A new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) report finds that small cars, muscle cars and sports cars continue to show the highest driver death rates in the U.S. The analysis covers 2023 models and comparable earlier vehicles involved in fatal crashes from 2021 to 2024. The Kia Rio leads with 170 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, followed closely by the Nissan Versa at 164. Several rear-wheel-drive cars, including the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger HEMI and Dodge Challenger, rank near the top. On the other end, SUVs dominate the lowest rates, with six models recording zero—Audi Q7, BMW X7, Chevrolet Tahoe, Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and Toyota Tundra CrewMax.