2021 Ford Bronco Misses Top Safety Pick Award over Head Restraints, Lights

• The good news: The 2021 Ford Bronco four-door SUV achieved the top Good rating in five of the six crashworthiness tests administered by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the group announced today.

• The less-good news: The Bronco didn't do well enough to earn IIHS Top Safety Pick honors because it got a Marginal rating for headlights and was only rated Acceptable in the head restraint test.

• Its major competitor, the 2021 Jeep Wrangler, likewise has no Top Safety Pick designation, although for different reasons.

The 2021 Ford Bronco four-door SUV has completed the full set of crash and safety testing from the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). While the new Bronco achieved the top Good rating in five of six crashworthiness tests, it fell short of earning Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ honors. Its smaller stablemate, the Bronco Sport, did make the Top Safety Pick+ list for 2021 with Good ratings in all six evaluations.

The Bronco lost points for its head restraints, which were only rated Acceptable (possible ratings are Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor). The IIHS measures the restraints based on an average male occupant's height and the distance behind the person's head, stating the restraint should be about 3.5 inches below the top of the person's head and with as small a distance from the back of the head to the restraint as possible. In rear-end crash testing, the test dummy's neck was "subject to moderate force" and the Bronco's seat didn't support the occupant's head and neck well, indicating that occupants may not be protected well enough against whiplash injuries, the organization said in a statement.