The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander was named an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) "Top Safety Pick+" and the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport designated the only IIHS "Top Safety Pick" model in the Small SUV category.

Due to more stringent testing criteria for the IIHS "Top Safety Pick+" and "Top Safety Pick" awards, only 39 vehicle models earned either award in 2014 - a drastic reduction when compared to the 130 vehicle models that earned IIHS award recognition in 2013.

The redesigned 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander was one of only 22 vehicles to earn the IIHS "Top Safety Pick+" accolade for 2014.

For a vehicle to become an IIHS "Top Safety Pick+" for 2014, a test subject must not only display exemplary performance in the various stringent crash testing criteria, but it must now "have systems that can prevent or mitigate front-to-rear crashes," according to the IIHS.

For 2014, the IIHS raised the qualifying standard for the "Top Safety Pick" rating achieved by the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport as its vehicle evaluation now includes the small overlap crash test. According to the agency, the small overlap crash test "replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or object like a tree or utility pole."

A key safety technology that helped the 2014 Outlander Sport attain the distinguished IIHS "Top Safety Pick" safety rating is Mitsubishi Motors' patented Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE). Engineered into every Mitsubishi Motors vehicle, RISE is Mitsubishi Motors' safety body construction system featuring integrated energy-absorbing crumple zones and engineered reinforcements strategically placed within the body/chassis that provide maximum protection to the vehicle's occupants in the event of an impact by absorbing and/or dispersing a great deal of this energy away from the cabin.