Toronto, Ontario — Small pickups are the latest vehicle class to fall short when it comes to protecting backseat passengers, as a recent IIHS crash testing session would show, with not a single of the five trucks tested earning a grade of “Good”.
The Nissan Frontier fared the best, achieving an “Acceptable” rating, following another round of testing for moderate overlap front crashes—a test that was updated in December, by adding a child-sized crash dummy to the seat behind the driver, in order to address poor crash protection for such passengers.
Concerning the other four trucks that took part in the testing; the Ford Ranger earned a “Marginal” rating, while the Chevrolet Colorado, Jeep Gladiator and Toyota Tacoma were all rated “Poor”. These ratings only apply to crew cab models, according to the IIHS.
“Our updated moderate overlap front crash test proved to be challenging for small pickups,” said IIHS president David Harkey.
“A common problem was that the rear passenger dummy’s head came dangerously close to the front seatback, and in many cases, dummy measurements indicated a risk of neck or chest injuries. All these things tell us that the rear seat belts need improvement.”
Despite this less-than-stellar performance from some major international automakers, the IIHS maintains that the back seat is still the safest place in a vehicle for young children, as front airbags have been known to cause injury to smaller individuals.
In the tests of the Colorado, Frontier, Ranger and Tacoma, it was found that the rear seat restraints could not prevent the dummy’s head from nearly striking the front seatback, which could lead to neck injury.
The Gladiator did not have this issue, though it does not contain a side curtain airbag in its rear either.
In the Ranger, the rear dummy submarined beneath the lap belt, causing it to ride up from the ideal position on the pelvis onto the abdomen, which increases the risk of internal injuries.
As somewhat of a silver lining, the IIHS pointed out that none of the vehicles recorded injury severity levels above moderate.
Small pickups are the latest vehicle class to have underperformed in this updated moderate overlap front crash test since it was introduced, as small and midsize SUVs, as well as small cars, have all struggled.
