The Chevrolet Volt was the only small car among the latest group of 12 tested to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ designation. The Volt joins five other small cars in 2014 to earn the top IIHS distinction.

And it is harder to be a Top Safety Pick+ or Top Safety Pick in 2014 than it was in 2013. Last year, receiving a “good” or “acceptable” rating in the IIHS’ tough small overlap front crash—introduced in 2012 and intended to replicate what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle or a stationary object such as a tree—was required only for a Top Safety Pick+. This year, a good or acceptable small overlap performance is required for Top Safety Pick, while vehicles earning the Top Safety Pick+ designation must also provide front crash prevention systems intended to help drivers avoid rear-ending a stopped or slower-moving vehicle in front of them.

In fact, one other small car in the latest group of 12 outperformed the Volt in the small overlap front test, but missed out on the Top Safety Pick+ designation because it does not have a front crash prevention system. That car, along with four others, was named a Top Safety Pick for 2014.

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