Many people believe that a very large high-riding vehicle can provide better all-around protection in case of a crash. Unfortunately, the Institute for Insurance and Highway Safety (IIHS) tested a few of them for the first time, and the findings go against that public belief. Jeep scored a minor win, though!
The IIHS put multiple copies of the 2023 Jeep Wagoneer, the 2024 Ford Expedition, and the 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe through their series of updated safety tests, and the results could be safely considered a wake-up call for those who still believe that immense three-row SUVs can protect family and friends better than a midsize SUV or a crossover.
The Institute's Top Safety Pick+ award is given to vehicles that pass all the updated tests with flying colors, including offering protection to those sitting in the second row and pedestrians. Automotive technology has evolved considerably in the past few years, enabling companies to introduce more sensors, airbags, cameras, radars, modules, and impressive computers that can form a sort of life-saving and injury-avoiding protection shield.
Given how fast, heavy, and large the average American vehicle is nowadays, all those systems are a need, not a fad. That's why it's great to see it's not only the NHTSA that is trying to push automakers in the right direction. Granted, some could say that the IIHS took its sweet time to put contemporary full-size SUVs through its testing procedure. But better late than never, right?
That being said, the IIHS found that the abovementioned full-size SUVs protected the driver very well in the moderate overlap frontal crash test but didn't provide an adequate level of safety for those sitting in the second row.
That procedure has a vehicle driving at almost 40 mph (64 kph), with around 40 percent of its width aimed at a deformable aluminum barrier. The scope of the test is to simulate what would happen when two vehicles of equal weight hit each other.
Until two years ago, the Institute only measured the driver's injuries. In 2022, it added a smaller dummy positioned in the second row, right behind the driver. It's supposed to resemble a small woman or a 12-year-old boy.
While the result isn't a commercial death sentence for the three full-size SUVs, it's worth taking into account that midsize models like the 2024 Ford Explorer, the 2024 Mazda CX-90, the 2024 Kia Telluride, the 2024 Tesla Model Y, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE, or the 2024 BMW X3 have obtained the Top Safety Pick+.
Still, receiving the Top Safety Pick (no plus at the end) means the three full-size SUVs fared well in the side crash test.
Photo: IIHS on YouTube
The IIHS singled out the Ford Expedition for not performing that great in the small overlap crash test. The driver might be seriously hurt because the safety cage becomes compromised. Interestingly enough, the inflatable safety belts found in the Dearborn-based marque's SUV don't provide any real benefit.
On the other hand, the Institute showed that Jeep's Wagoneer performed much better in the same test.
The Chevy Tahoe struggled with the headlight and the pedestrian collision avoidance test. The IIHS said that the vehicle doesn't have great headlamps and can't help the driver avoid hitting vulnerable road users at night.
Finally, the IIHS underlines what most people feel: larger vehicles must be as safe as possible for those sitting inside and for those who might encounter them.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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