The 2021 Ford Bronco 4-Door has fallen just short of receiving safety awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) because of inadequate headlights and its failure to provide enough protection against whiplash injuries.
The Bronco did earn “good” ratings in five out of six crashworthiness tests but earns an “acceptable” rating in the IIHS’s head restraint test because the neck of the test dummy was subjected to moderate force in a simulated rear-end crash.
The institute says it evaluates the geometry of head restraints in passenger vehicles based on the height and backset relative to an average-size male. A restraint should be at least as high as the head’s center of gravity, or about 3.5-inches below the top of the head, and the backset, or distance behind the head, should be as small as possible.
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Although the Bronco meets these criteria, in a test simulation of a stationary vehicle being struck from behind by a vehicle of the same weight traveling at 20 mph (32 km/h), the seat did not provide enough support for the occupant’s head and neck to earn a “good” rating, the IIHS found.
The Bronco’s headlight systems also let it down, even though its two available front crash prevention systems meet high award criteria for the IIHS. To earn the institute’s Top Safety Pick award, though, at least one “good” or “acceptable” headlight system must be available. To earn its Top Safety Pick+ award, “good” or “acceptable” headlights must be standard across all trims.
Both headlight systems available to Bronco buyers earned “marginal” ratings because their low beams do not illuminate the road to a far enough distance on curves, per the IIHS. As a result, the Bronco misses out on either award.
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