Because they’re not crossover nor passenger cars, pickup trucks have a special place in the heart of the American public. And with the legislators, who are too soft with how safe these workhorses should be. When it comes to the passenger-side small overlap front test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found out that most pickups could do better.
The majority of the tested trucks “struggled to maintain their structure.” The Nissan Titan and Ford F-150, both from the full-size segment, earned a “good” rating, joining the Ram 1500. Care to guess how the Honda Ridgeline did? “Acceptable” is everything the IIHS could award the unibody pickup.
On the flip side, the Ridgeline is the only pickup that qualifies for the 2019 Top Safety Pick accolade thanks to “good” headlights and superior front crash prevention. Coincidence or not, no other truck tested by the IIHS has “good” headlights, which goes to show that manufacturers, suppliers, and the engineers should put their money where their mouth is.
The Toyota Tacoma would’ve joined the Honda if it weren’t for the headlights, also earning an “acceptable” rating in the passenger-side test. Of the eleven crew-cab pickups tested on this occasion, the Toyota Tundra is the only one with a “poor” rating. Five were deemed “marginal” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and this has to change.
"We commend Ford, Nissan, and Ram for providing state-of-the-art crash protection for both drivers and front passengers of their large pickup models,” declared David Zuby, chief research officer. "As a group, however, the class still has a lot of work to do."
Care to guess which trucks are in with the “marginal” crowd? The list starts with General Motors (Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500), followed by the Frontier. It shouldn’t come as a surprise the Nissan did so bad. After all, it’s the oldest design in the mid-size segment, dating back to the 2005 model year.
On that note, cue the “aluminum body isn’t strong enough” comments. Once again, Ford proves that lightweight doesn’t necessarily mean unsafe.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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