The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is out with a new round of crash tests. This time the insurance research group focused on the safety of passengers riding in midsized SUV's.
Of the eight midsized SUVs tested, six earned either good or acceptable ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when it comes to the safety of passengers in a crash.
The testing focused on small overlap crashes which occur when just the front corner of the SUV strikes an object, like another vehicle or a tree.
The 2019 Kia Sorento, the 2018 Volkswagon Atlas and the 2018 GMC Acadia performed the best and received good ratings overall.
"The main reason a vehicle gets a good rating the structure, in particular the safety cage, the parts of the vehicle that surround the occupants stays intact," said IIHS Executive Vice President David Zuby.
The 2018 Toyota Highlander and 2018 Nissan Pathfinder earned acceptable marks.
The worst performing SUVs were the Ford Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Both received poor overall ratings with researchers noting a range of issues including structural collapse, a non-deploying airbag and hard hits to the dummy’s head during testing.
"We understand that from both the Fiat Chrysler, who make the Jeep, and Ford that they are planning improvements when they redesign these models," said Zuby.
Of the newly-rated SUVs, the 2019 Kia Sorento is the only one to earn the institute’s highest award: top safety pick, having earned good or acceptable ratings in this and other IIHS crashworthiness tests.
The SUVs were crash-tested at a speed of 40 miles per hour. Researchers at the IIHS say overall, people are much better protected in today's cars, SUVs and passenger trucks than ever before.