The Subaru BRZ is the seventh model bestowed with the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS)’s Top Safety Pick (TSP). It joins the Impreza, Subaru XV, Legacy, Outback, and the Forester. The Legacy, Outback, and Forester are awarded TSP+ when equipped with the optional Eyesight system.

Developed with the "Pure Handling Delight" concept, the Subaru BRZ delivers exceptional handling performance enabled by the ultra-low center of gravity packaging with Subaru's Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine mounted as low as possible. The front engine, rear-wheel drive sports car has been received with great enthusiasms and won accolades worldwide.

To win Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must have "Good" ratings in all four tests of high-speed front and side crash tests, a rollover test, and evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. In addition, "Good" or "Acceptable" performance in a small overlap front test introduced in 2012 is also required. The small overlap test is a demanding crash that replicates what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle or an object like a tree or utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a car's front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph.