Ford Explorer, Bronco Sport win ‘top safety pick’ titles from US safety agency

The 2022 Ford Explorer and Ford Bronco Sport SUVs have won the ‘Top Safety Pick+’ titles from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the highest possible rating issued by the independent, non-profit group. Both the vehicles scored a rating of ‘good’ in all six IIHS crashworthiness tests.

The crashworthiness tests includes driver- and passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. Five more models from Ford received the IIHS Top Safety Pick awards, including Mustang Mach-E, Edge, Escape, F-150 crew cab and F-150 extended cab.

To qualify for the safety title, vehicles must be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. On all models, ratings of good or acceptable for headlights must be standard.

Earlier this year, Ford Bronco also won the title of the North American utility of the year. Other finalists with Bronco included Genesis GV70 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric SUV. Ford Bronco won the title out of a dozen of candidates given that they must be new or substantially changed for the current model year.

Apart from Bronco, Ford Maverick pickup won the truck of the year title. Other finalists for the Truck of the Year title included the Hyundai Santa Cruz and the Rivian R1T pickup. They were judged by fifty automotive journalists from the US and Canada who evaluated the finalists on value, innovation, design, performance, safety, technology and driver satisfaction.

Last year, Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV won the utility award, paving way for electric vehicles to win more awards in the coming years as more and more models will be rolled out at lower prices and in more popular segments.