When it comes to driving a safe SUV, size matters, but some larger models offer more protection than others, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS.
Case in point: the Jeep Wagoneer is the only one of three popular large SUVs to qualify for a 2024 Top Safety Pick award, which is one step down from its highest ranking, IIHS said Thursday in releasing new ratings.
The Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition, also bestsellers, fell short for reasons including subpar performance in the small overlap front crash test, the Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit said. More than 90% of new models have sailed through the evaluation with good ratings since 2021, IIHS noted.
All three vehicles are designed to haul people and to tow boats and campers, yet none offer good protection for backseat passengers, an issue that kept the Wagoneer from earning the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award.
“The huge mass of these large SUVs provides some additional protection in crashes with smaller vehicles, though that also means they present more danger to other road users,” IIHS President David Harkey stated in a release. “The flip side of their large size is that there is a lot more force to manage when they crash into a fixed obstacle like a tree or bridge abutment or the barrier we use in our front crash tests.”
Good rating
The Wagoneer did a good job maintaining survival space for the driver and front passenger in the small overlap evaluation. It performed slightly worse in the driver-side test: slight intrusion in the footwell brought a modest risk of injury to the driver’s left foot and ankle, IIHS found. In both driver-side and passenger-side tests, the front and side curtain airbags prevented crash dummies’ heads from hitting the vehicle’s rigid structures.
Acceptable rating
The Tahoe maintained adequate survival space for the driver, but substantial risk of lower leg injuries. Performance was worse in the passenger-side test, with IIHS finding a high risk of injury to the right foot and moderate risk of injury to the passenger’s left leg.
Marginal rating
The Expedition did not perform well in the tests of either side. In the driver-side test, the steering column partially detached from the instrument panel, and in both tests the A-pillar separated from the rocker panel. Excessive intrusion into the footwell contributed to a high risk of injury to the driver’s right leg and moderate risk to the left. Footwell intrusion was also seen in the passenger-side test to a lesser degree, IIHS found.
The vehicles were given varied ratings in other tests, including pedestrian crash avoidance. Front crash prevention systems in the Expedition and Wagoneer were given good marks, while the Tahoe was given a marginal ranking.
