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2021 Ford Bronco vs Jeep Wrangler Crash Tests | IIHS tests reveal differences

Neither are IIHS Top Safety Picks

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has crash-tested the 2021 Ford Bronco. It's mostly good news, but it falls a bit short in a couple of categories. As a result, it just misses out on being named a Top Safety Pick. But its ratings seem to put it ahead of the Jeep Wrangler.

In crash tests, the Bronco gets the highest "Good" rating in nearly every category, including the difficult small-overlap tests. But it was weak in one category: head restraints. The IIHS found "the neck of the test dummy was subject to moderate force in a simulated rear-end crash," which was too much for a "Good" rating. It still received the second-highest "Acceptable" rating. Also preventing the Top Safety Pick award were headlight results. All the Bronco's headlights were rated the second-lowest "Marginal" due to weak lighting in corners.

The remainder of the test results were solid, with forward collision prevention technology receiving the top "Superior" rating in vehicle-to-vehicle situations, and the second-highest "Advanced" rating for vehicle-to-pedestrian situations. Child seat LATCH anchor access was rated "Acceptable."

Although the Bronco didn't quite get a Top Safety Pick, it did slightly outperform the Jeep Wrangler. The Wrangler gets top marks in nearly every crash test, including the head restraint test that challenged the Bronco. But it gets the "Marginal" rating for the driver small-overlap test, notably worse than the Bronco. The IIHS didn't evaluate the Wrangler for passenger-side small-overlap impacts. Furthermore, most of the headlights available on the Wrangler were rated "Poor" and the best were just "Marginal." The Wrangler's forward collision prevention systems are all optional, whereas the Bronco includes them standard.

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Ford Bronco Information

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