Taking top honors in the IIHS safety regimen requires a good rating in each of the agency's front, side and rear impact tests plus the inclusion of stability control as a standard feature. GMC's Acadia crossover and its Lamda platform cousins have done just that and claimed the honor of the IIHS Top Pick award in the latest round of testing.

The other General Motors crossovers based on the Lambda platform include the Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and the new Chevrolet Traverse. Safety features that helped the Acadia reach the 'good' rating in all three categories include front and side airbags plus head curtain airbags for all three rows of occupants. The IIHS classes the GMC Acadia as a 'Large SUV' and the only other model to earn the Top Pick award besides the four GM vehicles in this category was the Audi Q7.

Recent testing of a number of small-to-mid-sized SUVs and crossovers resulted in a handful of vehicles earning top marks, including the Top Pick Ford Escape and its sister models. The Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Rogue and Volkswagen Tiguan also earned top scores in the tests. GM's Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent, however, fared somewhat poorly due to their lack of side-impact airbags as standard equipment.