When the Ford Bronco was first introduced, there was one glaring problem that prevented it from getting a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS): its headlights. It seems that the issue has not been rectified, once again leaving the off-road pony out of the running for the 2025 IIHS Top Safety Pick Awards.
According to the IIHS, the Bronco was disqualified due to “marginal” ratings for its headlights. IIHS notes that the headlights included as standard on the Base and Heritage trims were particularly disappointing – the low beams provided inadequate illumination on the left side of the vehicle and around curves, while the high beams produced similar results, even though
“high-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle’s low beams on the straightaway and all four curves.”
However, it’s worth noting that the standard headlights included on the Big Bend, Outer Banks, Badlands, Stroppe Edition, and Raptor trims performed well and received sufficient ratings.
The headlights weren’t the only point of failure for the Ford Bronco in this year’s study. It also received poor ratings for its pedestrian front crash prevention system, criticized for its latent reaction to simulated pedestrian obstacles using its high beams and low beams.
Additionally, in the moderate overlap test, the Ford Bronco presented with a heightened risk of chest injuries. This test simulates an offset crash between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions at just under 40 mph, and the Bronco did not perform well in the updated version of the test, which examines the damage sustained by second-row passengers. Measurements collected from the rear dummy showed chest injuries in the event of a crash, although the publication notes that it performed well by “most other metrics.”
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Ford Bronco, though. It received “Good” ratings in several crash test areas, including small overlap front, updated side, and seatbelt reminders. However, it was only given an “Acceptable” score in terms of latch ease of use and vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention.
Comments
If a vehicle isn’t a Top Safety Pick (or +), I won’t go near it. The Bronco Sport fared even worse.
… I feel so much relief from having read that from you.
Your comments are like watching PBS reruns…
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You post up alot, but just how often do you actually purchase one?