Nissan Frontier Is the Safest Small Pick Up in a Rollover

As bad things happen when you least expect it, it’s good to be cautious, pay attention to detail and don’t hesitate to get some extra airbags when buying a new car. If you’re in the market for a new small pick up, you should know that the safest one in case of a rollover accident is the Nissan Frontier.

Of the five small pick ups tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Nissan Frontier was the best, as its roof rated "good." The weakest of the all was the Chevrolet Colorado, which was rated in the same category with the Dodge Dakota and the Toyota Tacoma. The Ford Ranger was rated “acceptable,” which is obviously better.

According the IIHS, a roof rated “good” must be at least twice as strong as the the minimum required under the current federal safety standard. Though people in the market for a car rarely take things like these into consideration, 10,000 people die each year in rollover accidents.

"As a group, small pickups aren't performing as well as small cars or small SUVs in all of the Institute's safety tests. None of the ones we tested is a top-notch performer across the board. In fact, no small pickup earns our Top Safety Pick award," says Institute Senior Vice President David Zuby.

The Nissan Frontier, which is also sold as the Suzuki Equator, lost the 2010 IIHS award due to being rated acceptable instead of good for protection against neck injury in rear crashes. In order to get the “Top Safety Pick” from the IIHS, a car has to be rated good in front, side, rear, and rollover crashes.