Crash Course: Small Truck Safety Rundown

April 26, 2023June 5, 2023 Heather Fishel 0 Comments Chevy Colorado, Compact Truck, Crash Safety, Extang, Ford Maverick, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, Honda Ridgeline, Hyundai Santa Cruz, IIHS, Jeep Gladiator, Mid-Size Trucks, NHTSA, Nissan Frontier, Safety, Toyota Tacoma, Truck Safety

Nine “small” pickup trucks and where they rank on safety.

From plenty of space for goods and gear to cushy cabs filled with high-tech features to potent powertrains under the hood, the small pickup segment offers a select number of options that have been truck fans’ faves for years now: the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, and Toyota Tacoma.

However, in recent years, these “small” pickups have gotten significantly more sizable – and thanks to advances in safety tech and driver assistance features, they also appear to be getting increasingly safer.

Plus, a few new additions within the segment – the Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Cruz, and Jeep Gladiator in particular – are already standouts thanks to their safety advantages.

Keep reading to learn which safety ratings matter in the small pickup segment and how each truck performs according to various standards and testing practices.

Which Safety Ratings Matter

There’s a lot of data and plenty of rankings and ratings available to browse if you want to learn more about the safety of any particular small pickup. But it can be tricky to tell which safety ratings are the most important – and what those ratings actually mean out on the road.

There are two organizations that evaluate and rate new cars in regards to safety (specifically, safety when it comes to crashes): the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Here’s what you need to know about the two:

While NHTSA is a government agency that conducts safety testing, IIHS is a nonprofit organization created by the auto insurance industry.

NHTSA assesses most new cars for crash testing, oversees vehicle recalls, and monitors vehicle efficiency. IIHS, on the other hand, focuses solely on testing different vehicles with a battery of tests that covers everything from roof strength to headlight performance to crash performance from every angle.

Nearly all cars receive a rating from NHTSA — which you can find right on the manufacturer’s sticker at any car dealership. However, not all cars get an IIHS rating.

IIHS also doles out special awards, or “picks,” annually. Its Top Safety Pick (TSP) and Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) recipients are often touted in car commercials. IIHS only awards these titles to vehicles that show standout performance in the organization’s crash testing.

*Notably, the IIHS Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ list gets smaller every year. The standards for the awards are updated annually, and the criteria vehicles need to meet gets increasingly tougher. Because IIHS testing is so rigorous, the list of 2023 winners is the smallest ever.

Why Aren’t Any Small Pickups IIHS Top Safety Picks?

You’re probably wondering why there are no small pickups – or pickups of any kind, actually – on the list of IIHS Top Safety and Top Safety+ Picks this year. Well, like we mentioned above, the tests are getting a lot tougher, and increasingly fewer vehicles are able to meet the new higher standards.

For 2023, only 28 vehicles qualified for an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, and just 20 qualified as IIHS Top Safety Picks. As a result, the field is narrower than ever before (and no small pickups were able to top either list).

And there’s one more factor that may play a role in why small pickups don’t typically make the IIHS top pick lists: There’s currently a huge backlog of vehicles waiting to be crash tested.

Approximately 97% of all new vehicles sold undergo testing from either NHTSA or IIHS – or both! As a result, there’s often a significant delay between when a vehicle goes on sale and when it has a set of crash testing results to show off to drivers.

So, plenty of the newest small pickups may simply be waiting for their turn in the spotlight. Plus, it’s important to remember that while crash test ratings from the IIHS and other organizations are helpful, they’re not the only way to determine how safe your preferred pickup may be.

An Overview of Popular Small Pickup Safety Ratings

So, where do the most popular and in-demand small pickups land when it comes to their safety features and performance in crash testing? Here’s an overview of the six staple models, plus a few newcomers within the segment that are starting to attract attention for their strong safety ratings.

Chevrolet Colorado

When it comes to crash testing, the Chevrolet Colorado is a small crew cab pickup with standout performance.

The Colorado earns a “good” rating – the highest offered by IIHS – in all but one test, passenger side crash testing. Overall, reinforcement throughout the cab’s design and a strong structural cage help make this small truck a great option for those seeking serious durability.

That said, late last year, IIHS performed an updated side crash test on small pickups. While it is not included in the award criteria, it does provide a little more insight into real-world side impacts by using a heavier barrier traveling at a higher speed.

In the updated test, the Chevy Colorado earned a “good” rating thanks to its sturdy structure, high ride height and safety cage, which held up well during crashes. These design details help to minimize the risk of most injuries for those behind the wheel and in the passenger seat.

GMC Canyon

If you’re looking for a small pickup that’s a safety standout, the Colorado’s sibling comes pretty close to perfect.

The GMC Canyon earns a “good” rating in every IIHS crash test category except small overlap at the front passenger side. (Here, the Canyon got a “marginal” rating). After the truck’s 2017 redesign, IIHS noted that details like added reinforcement of areas like the A-pillar, lower hinge door pillar, and door sills were key in helping to strengthen the cab’s protection.

The Canyon, like the Chevy Colorado, was another standout in updated side crash testing, too. GMC’s small pickup earned the highest possible rating – “good” – from IIHS. Details like its higher ride height, strong door sill construction, and overall structure and safety cage helped prevent serious injuries and intrusion during testing.

Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is another small pickup that’s a safety standout. In fact, it’s one of the highest-rated from IIHS that you can buy, and it outshines most of its competitors.

With a “good” rating in every category except passenger-side front overlap testing – which the Ridgeline still excelled at, earning the slightly lower “acceptable” rating – this small pickup even nabbed a “superior” rating for its standard crash prevention system.

All of the redesign cues and details that were first introduced on the 2017 Honda Ridgeline paid off, and it’s now one impressively durable pickup. Plus, with optional driver assistance and safety features that can be added on top of what’s standard, you can equip your pickup as much or as little as you’d like.

Ford Ranger

Overall, the Ford Ranger earns predominantly “good” ratings in all-angle crash testing from IIHS.

It is particularly protective (and safe!) when it comes to potential crashes on the driver’s side and the roof, making it a great option for those concerned about rollover. What’s more, its driver assistance features, like standard Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking, earned ratings of either “superior” or “advanced” in preventing dangerous accidents.

Like the trucks mentioned above, the Ford Ranger also underwent new side crash testing with IIHS. While the Ranger earned “acceptable” in this test, research engineers from IIHS noted that the truck’s crew cab offered solid performance and helped prevent injury-causing instruction into the driver or passenger areas.

Nissan Frontier

Overall, the Nissan Frontier is more than just a popular small pickup; it’s one that offers a strong, highly protective cab and essential crash protection for drivers and passengers.

With testing data still to come for the redesigned 2022 model, it’s already performing quite well with IIHS, earning “good” ratings across the board in front crash tests and “superior” ratings for crash prevention. The Frontier’s Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, which comes standard, plays a key role in keeping everyone inside (and outside) the vehicle safe.

When it comes to the newly revamped and more rigorous side crash testing performed by IIHS, the Nissan Frontier earned an “acceptable” rating. Though not the best of the bunch, it’s still a nicely solid performance – and there was one key area in which the Frontier bested all other small pickups tested. After the crash, the Frontier’s structure held up better than all of its competitors, minimizing the risk of most injuries.

Toyota Tacoma

While the Toyota Tacoma is a bit more of a mixed bag when it comes to safety and crash test performance, it still does a decent job of covering base-level safety.

It earns “good” ratings in a number of IIHS categories, with solid roof strength and protection against crash-related injuries on the driver’s side of the cab. However, this popular small pickup did face a lower rating after undergoing the updated IIHS side crash testing. Research engineers noted the cab’s lack of structural performance and stability as the primary problem with its performance.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to discount the Tacoma if you’re searching for a safe small pickup, though. The standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection the Toyota truck is equipped with does a “superior” job of preventing crashes at 12 and 25 miles per hour, and head restraints and seating performed quite well in all IIHS testing.

Jeep Gladiator

Since it hit dealership lots in 2019, the Jeep Gladiator is a pickup that’s still waiting for quite a bit of crash testing performance data. In fact, neither organization has been able to thoroughly test it.

However, what has been reviewed seems favorable. NHTSA provided the Gladiator with a 4-star rating for front crashes and a 3-star rating for rollover safety. Additionally, the vehicle offers a wealth of optional driver assistance features that can enhance its level of protection, from blind-spot monitoring to forward automatic emergency braking to a front-facing camera system.

As for the new, true “compact” small pickups to recently hit the market…

Ford Maverick

This small pickup, which hit the market just last year in 2022, is still waiting to undergo the battery of typical IIHS crash tests from every angle. However, in its initial review and testing of this truck, the Maverick is proving itself to be a great choice when it comes to safety features that help avoid and prevent accidents.

IIHS rates the 2022-2023 Ford Maverick as “superior” in front crash prevention, the highest rating possible. The organization calls out driver assistance features like standard Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking as key in helping to prevent crashes altogether. Plus, with optional extras like blind spot detection and lane departure prevention, the small pickup can help you stay a bit safer on the road.

Hyundai Santa Cruz

Like we mentioned above, it’s pretty rare to find a small pickup truck on the IIHS list of annual Top Safety Picks and Top Safety Pick+ vehicles. However, the Hyundai Santa Cruz nabbed this incredible honor its very first year on the road! That’s right: while it didn’t meet this year’s extra-rigorous criteria, the Santa Cruz was an IIHS Top Safety Pick for 2022.

While this pickup is still a newcomer in the increasingly crowded field of small truck choices, it’s already a standout.

The Santa Cruz sailed through IIHS crash testing, earning nothing lower than a “good” rating in every key crash test. Plus, when it comes to preventing crashes, the 2022 model’s crash prevention system (which features standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Detection) ranked “superior” in its ability to stop crashes before they even occurred.