(Photo via Ford)
By Laura Sky Brown | Car and Driver
The 2021 Ford Bronco four-door SUV has completed the full set of crash and safety testing from the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). While the new Bronco achieved the top Good rating in five of six crashworthiness tests, it fell short of earning Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ honors. Its smaller stablemate, the Bronco Sport, did make the Top Safety Pick+ list for 2021 with Good ratings in all six evaluations.
The Bronco lost points for its head restraints, which were only rated Acceptable (possible ratings are Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor). The IIHS measures the restraints based on an average male occupant’s height and the distance behind the person’s head, stating the restraint should be about 3.5 inches below the top of the person’s head and with as small a distance from the back of the head to the restraint as possible. In rear-end crash testing, the test dummy’s neck was “subject to moderate force” and the Bronco’s seat didn’t support the occupant’s head and neck well, indicating that occupants may not be protected well enough against whiplash injuries, the organization said in a statement.
“It’s important to remember that IIHS is an organization that is funded by the insurance industry, so the decision not to award the Bronco the Top Safety Pick+ designation does not mean that Ford hasn’t complied with safety regulations. Instead, vehicles that receive the Top Safety Pick award are those that perform well in IIHS’ own set of crash tests, as well as in other categories relating to headlights or driver assistance technology that can help avoid a crash. As such, consumers have to decide just how much they value the perspective of IIHS when choosing a new vehicle.”
–Eric Hill, Rose Law Group automotive attorney
