Top Safety Pick: 2013 NISSAN LEAF, named by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

2013 NISSAN LEAF cross-section

The full-electric five-seated 2013 Nissan Leaf has received top safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Along with the LEAF, Altima and Infiniti M37/56 got on NISSAN's stable on the 2013 Top Safety Picks list.

Among safety-related goodies in the Leaf are its front and side airbags, sensored seat belts and traction-control systems for EV drivers looking to get squirrely.

At the beginning of 2013 Nissan cut the prices for the US version of Leaf, resulting a base price of $28,000. The $6,400 cut helped Nissan sell in the first four months of this year 5,476 cars, more than double than the year before.