What is the safest midsize SUV for women? This is a good question because not all SUVs protect women and men, equally. Whereas men are more likely to be in a crash, women are more likely to be severely injured when a crash occurs. This is due to the fact that cars are built with the male body in mind and there are biological differences between women and men. We discuss this problem in our blog Why Women Need More Protection in Cars. As a result, women need to be more selective in picking the car that best protects them.

Auto Grades for Women

Herein lies the reason that the scientists at The Auto Professor created the safety rating system called Auto Grades. Ours is the only system that gives a car safety rating, separating women from men. Using actual fatal crash data, we looked at the driver fatality rates of vehicles by the characteristics of the driver. We grade the safety of the vehicle by how well it protected women versus men and older versus younger drivers. You, as the driver, can use the Auto Grade search engine to find our safety rating for nearly any vehicle. One you own or one you are thinking about buying.

Safest Midsize SUVs for Female Drivers

To make your search more convenient, we compiled the following table of our top picks for female drivers of popular midsize SUVs. In other words, we had lots of data for these popular vehicles and across all age groups, these SUVs earned an A or A- for protecting the female drivers, all age groups, the best.

Popular Midsize SUVs Model Years 2018-2022 with Auto Grades A or A- for Women of All Age Groups

• Dodge Durango
• Ford Explorer
• Ford Flex
• Honda Pilot
• Jeep Grand Cherokee & Grand Cherokee WK
• Jeep Wrangler, Wrangler JK
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Toyota 4Runner
• Toyota Highlander

The following list shows popular midsize SUVs that earned an A or A- Auto Grade for female drivers less than 50 years old, however did not quite reach this highest level for protecting the older female drivers.

Additional Popular Midsize SUVs Model Years 2018-2022 with Auto Grades A or A- for Women 50 years old and younger

• Dodge Journey
• Hyundai Santa Fe, Santa Fe Sport & Santa Fe XL
• Kia Sorento
• Nissan Murano
• Subaru Outback

Less Popular Midsize SUVs But Good Choices for Female Drivers

For less popular vehicles, we did not have a lot of data to compile an Auto Grade for women in different age groups. However we were able to rate these vehicles overall. The following list of less popular full size SUVs received an overall Auto Grade of A or A- and therefore we consider them good choices for all women and men of any age.

Less Popular Midsize SUVs Model Years 2018-2022 with Overall Auto Grades of A or A-

• Audi Q5
• BMW X5 & X6
• Buick Enclave
• Cadillac XT5
• Chevrolet Traverse
• Infiniti QX60
• Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
• Land Rover Discovery & Range Rover Sport
• Lexus RX, RX-L
• Mercedes GLC Class
• Porsche Cayenne
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Volvo XC60

These lists offer you, the driver and buyer, a good starting point for picking the best car for you. Always be sure to check the Auto Grade for any vehicle you own or are considering buying.