You might think that a Japanese truck (even one made in America) would be among the safest vehicles on the road. The 2017 Honda Ridgeline is, after all. But not the new Nissan Titan.
After putting it through the usual battery of tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave Nissan’s crew-cab pickup a “marginal” rating in the vital small-overlap front crash test.
The most recently introduced of the institute’s five crashworthiness tests simulates crashing into an oncoming vehicle or a stationary object (like a tree or utility pole) – but offset way to the side, as opposed to head-on.
Unfortunately, the Titan didn’t hold up well to the test as the passenger compartment collapsed as much as 11 inches into the driver’s space. In the real world, that would mean severe injury to the left lower leg, and possible damage to the left foot and right leg as well.
As a result, the IIHS gave the Nissan the second lowest of four possible grades (Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor) in the test. With both its available headlight systems also rated as “marginal,” the Titan misses out on a Top Safety Pick rating, even though it earned top “good” ratings in the other four crash tests. (Evaluation of the extended-cab version has yet to be published.)
This in contrast to the Ridgeline, which is the only pickup so far this year to win the coveted Top Safety Pick + rating – something for which, (lacking any available front crash prevention system) the Titan wouldn’t be eligible in any case. The only other pickup, it’s worth noting, to ace all five crash tests is the Ford F-150 (in both crew- and extended-cab versions).