The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has named six small SUVs Top Safety Picks: the Volkswagen Tiguan, Mitsubishi Outlander, Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Mercury Mariner, and Nissan Rogue. To qualify for this accolade, the six got the Institute's top rating of Good in offset frontal and side crash tests, plus an evaluation of rear crash protection. They also all offer electronic stability control as standard equipment. The Mercury Mariner and the Mazda Tribute are twins to the Ford Escape; the test results also apply to the hybrid versions of these models. The Honda CR-V, Honda Element, and Subaru Forester are also Top Picks in this class based on earlier tests. IIHS rates cars in an offset frontal crash that is more severe than U.S. government crash test standards and more closely mimics real-world accidents. Side crash tests are conducted to simulate a vehicle being hit in the side by a tall, heavy SUV. Vehicles are rated on a scale of Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor. (Learn more in "Crash Test 101.") Other small SUVs, including the Suzuki Grand Vitara, Jeep Patriot, Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac Torrent, Jeep Patriot, and Jeep Wrangler received lower grades in one of the crash measures. The Wrangler offered Poor protection in a side crash when tested without its optional side air bags. If you're in the market for a small SUV, we recommend you look for one that has Good crash scores from both the IIHS and the government, as well as one that performed well in our testing and has good predicted reliability. Of the IIHS Top Picks, we recommend the Honda CR-V and Element, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Subaru Forester. The Forester is our Top Rated small SUV. Read our recent Small SUV and Sporty SUV tests covering many of the models featured here. Crash test videos based on the latest tests will be posted next week. View more than 250 crash test videos. —Eric Evarts