"But I can't buy a sports car; they are expensive, impractical deathtraps," someone utters when shopping for a new car. "I should buy a safer, more economical crossover to drive myself around." The 2022 Subaru BRZ would like a word with this person. We'll admit, the BRZ is not the most practical car available, but for a sports car, its reasonable trunk and foldable back seat makes it more usable than others. And with a starting price under 30 grand, it's affordable too.

As of today, Subaru can now boast one more reason why you should buy a BRZ: it's incredibly safe. For the first time ever, the BRZ sports car has earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ award, the independent organization's highest honor.

The BRZ vaulted up to a TSP+ award thanks to the addition of Subaru's EyeSight Driver Assist Technology. EyeSight bundles adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, lane departure and sway warning, lead vehicle start alert, and automatic high beams. This suite helped the BRZ score the highest possible ratings for all crashworthiness and crash avoidance tests, with the EyeSight-equipped cars also scoring top marks on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

"We are thrilled the all-new BRZ received a Top Safety Pick+ award right out of the gate" said Thomas J. Doll, President and Chief Executive Officer, Subaru of America, Inc. "Our top priority with BRZ is to provide customers with an exciting and engaging sports car with the highest standards in safety."

Subaru now sells five vehicles with TSP+ ratings, including the Ascent, Crosstrek Hybrid, Legacy, and Outback. This means the Japanese automaker has earned this award more than any other brand since 2013. Meanwhile, the Crosstrek and Impreza earned TSP awards. Unfortunately, there's an asterisk for the BRZ's award. The TSP+ rating only applies to the BRZ equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission, an $1,500 option, as manual-equipped models don't get EyeSight.