2019 Ford Ranger Pickup - Why Isn't It an IIHS Top Safety Pick?

The all-new 2019 Ford Ranger performed very well in its full complement of Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS) safety testing this month. The Ranger had no major problems, but also did not earn the Top Safety Pick+ or Top Safety Pick Rating. There are two reasons why.

First, the Ranger did not earn a score of Good on all of its crash tests. Rather, it scored Acceptable on the small frontal overlap test conducted on the passenger side. This meant that the Ranger could not earn the Top Safety Pick Plus designation.

Despite that lower than Good score, the Ranger could still have earned the Top Safety Pick designation except that it also failed to earn a score of Good or Acceptable on the headlight test. There was no technicality here. Even the top trim of the Ranger was found to have high beams that were "... inadequate in all 4 tests."

There were some bright spots on the ranger's testing results sheet. The Ranger has Superior-rated automatic forward crash prevention with automatic emergency braking. This system is standard on every Ranger. The Ranger also scored Good on the side-impact and roof crush tests. Those with children to buckle into car seats should note that the Ranger only scores Marginal on child seat anchors.

The midsized pickup class has very few Top Safety Pick models from which to choose. The Honda Ridgeline earned the score in 2018, but it too scored lower than Good on the small frontal overlap test and some trims have headlights rated Poor.

Watch the video below for more details on the 2019 Ford Ranger's safety test results.

John Goreham tweets at @johngoreham. Please send him news tips and follow us at @TorqueNewsAuto.

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