• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

Cherokee, Explorer earn poor crash test rating

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 2018 IIHS Passenger Test

The Ford Explorer rated poor because the crossover’s structure collapsed during a passenger-side front small overlap crash test.

 

Two of the top-selling midsize and large SUV/crossovers namely the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2018 Ford Explorer rated poor in the latest passenger-side small overlap front crash tests, while the new Kia Sorento, Volkswagen Atlas and GMC Acadia received good ratings including the Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder and 2018 Honda Pilot received acceptable ratings.

 

A small overlap crash occurs when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or fixed object, such as a tree or utility pole. The IIHS passenger-side small overlap test is conducted at 40 mph with 25 percent overlap between the front end of the vehicle and a barrier.

 

In 2016, there were 1,606 U.S. fatalities from right-front passengers in frontal crashes, and 8,400 driver fatalities in frontal crashes, IIHS says. In the IIH’s 2009 study of 116 crashes with a fatal or serious injury in a frontal crash, 19 percent were near-side small overlap and 5 percent were far-side small overlap.

 

The agency estimates there are roughly 725 annual U.S. fatalities in passenger-side small overlap crashes and 1,675 in driver-side small overlap crashes. IIHS began rating vehicles for driver-side small overlap crash protection in 2012 and automakers have since made engineering changes to better protect drivers in such crashes. But passengers aren’t always equally protected, IIHS says, prompting the group to begin rating vehicles with the passenger-side test in 2017.

 

“These are vehicles that we hadn’t rated on the passenger side before, and as we add more tests to our battery of evaluations, we try to keep up current ratings for the vehicles that people are the most interested in buying,” IIHS Chief Research Officer David Zuby said.

 

On the other hand, the Ford Explorer is rated poor because the structure collapsed during the test. The passenger-side small overlap crash test indicated right hip and left lower leg injuries could occur in a crash, while the Grand Cherokee’s passenger-side small overlap crash test indicated right leg injuries and a possible head injury could occur in a crash.

 

Ford Explorer also received poor structural performance and an overall marginal rating for driver-side small overlap protection in the driver-side test. It will be redesigned for 2020 and Ford expects the crossover to “perform well” on future SORB tests and other tests.

 

Ford said in a statement that; “Customer safety continues to be one of our highest priorities when we design any of our vehicles and we continually make improvements to our vehicles to help our customers stay safe on the road’’.

 

Previously, the Explorer is a safe vehicle and has earned the highest 5-star overall NCAP ratings in the U.S. as well as ‘good’ ratings in front and side IIHS crash test modes.”

 

The Acadia received one acceptable rating, in passenger restraints and kinematics, with a maximum intrusion of just two inches on the right side of the toepan but a passenger dummy’s head slid off the right side of the front airbag. The vehicle otherwise rated good in each rating.

 

Furthermore, the Highlander, Pathfinder and Pilot rated good in chest, hip and thigh passenger injury measures, while the Highlander and Pathfinder rated marginal in structure, and Pilot rated marginal in passenger restraints and kinematics.

 

The test of the Pilot indicated the possibility of head injuries, as the test dummy slid off the front airbag and moved far enough forward to hit the dashboard.

 

The Sorento is the only vehicle tested to earn the institute’s Top Safety Pick+ award and was modified for the 2019 model year to improve protection in a passenger-side small overlap crash