The 2012 Dodge Charger and 2012 Kia Sportage garnered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's top safety rating. Dodge's midsize sedan and Kia’s compact SUV are the latest vehicles to earn an overall five stars out of five in NHTSA's crash tests. 

The Charger's combined five-star score was comprised of a mix of four and five stars across the different test segments. It earned four stars in the frontal crash test and the overall driver safety segment. The sedan earned fives in side barrier, side pole and rollover crashes. 

The Sportage's five-star rating only applies to the all-wheel-drive model; the front-wheel-drive model was awarded an overall safety rating of four stars. The all-wheel-drive Sportage's score was comprised of fives across the board and a four in the rollover test.

NHTSA recently adopted more stringent guidelines and rigorous testing practices, so it's harder for vehicles to get five stars. The Charger and Sportage are the 10th and 11th vehicles to be awarded NHTSA's highest combined star rating for the 2012 model year. Other five-star vehicles include the Cadillac CTS, Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Sonic, Chrysler 300, Saab 9-4X, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Passat and Volvo S60.