Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is latest Top Safety Pick

The 2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross earns a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when equipped with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights.

The small SUV, which was introduced for the 2018 model year, is derived from the larger Outlander. The 2019 Outlander previously earned aTop Safety Pick award.

To qualify for a 2019 Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.

The Eclipse Cross earns good ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations. Its front crash prevention system, which is an optional feature, rates superior. In IIHS track tests, the Eclipse Cross avoided collisions at 12 and 25 mph.

The small SUV earns an acceptable rating for its available LED headlights, which come with the SEL trim.

Opting for the Touring package will add high-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles. Adding high-beam assist helps compensate for some of the limitations of the LED low beams but doesn’t boost the headlights to a good rating. A good headlight rating would have earned the SUV the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award.

The Eclipse Cross's base halogen headlights earn a poor rating.