Two Popular SUVs Show Major Flaws After Failing Safety Test

Safety is one of, if not the most important factor in vehicles today. But apparently, some popular SUVs have major flaws when it comes to keeping passengers safe.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released new results for its passenger-side small-overlap crash test. The 2018 Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee got the worst ratings among the 8 midsize SUVs tested. Both got poor grades on the test that looks at what happens when the front corner of a vehicle hits another object.

The Explorer got a poor rating because the structure collapsed in the crash and part of the passenger side door was pushed over a foot into the SUV. Measures taken from the crash test dummy show that in a real-world crash there’s a high chance a passenger could suffer broken bones or dislocations of the hip or legs.



The Grand Cherokee’s structure held up a bit better than the Explorer, however, the passenger side curtain airbag failed to deploy allowing the dummy’s head to hit the dashboard. The passenger side door also opened during the crash, allowing the dummy to move outside the vehicle. The 2019 Kia Sorento was the IIHS Top Safety Pick. The Sorento, along with the 2018 GMC Acadia and 2018 Volkswagen Atlas got good ratings. The IIHS started rating vehicles on driver-side small-overlap crashes in 2012, but just started testing the passenger side last year.