How are vehicles given safety ratings?
Vehicles are crash tested by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). They are then awarded stars based on their performance in the test. 1-5 stars can be awarded, with 5 stars being the best possible outcome. All of the vehicles listed below are available in AWD/4×4 from Fremont Motors. All vehicle can have 3rd-row seating except the Ford Edge, VW Touareg, and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
2017 Toyota Highlander 5/5
Available in FWD or AWD, with a 3.5L V6, the Toyota Highlander AWD gets an overall 5-star rating for safety. The Toyota gets a whopping 5 stars in all 7 side crash tests. It gets 4 stars for front driver side crash, but 5 stars for front passenger side. That makes the overall front rating 4 stars. Rollover rating is 4 stars.
2017 Toyota 4Runner 4/5
The Toyota 4Runner is available in FWD and AWD, with a 4.0 liter 6 cylinder engine. The 4Runner gets an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Whilst it does very good on the side crash tests, it gets 5 stars for all categories except one. It gets 4 stars for overall side pole rating. For frontal crash tests, the 4Runner only gets 3 stars for front passenger side. It gets 4 stars for front driver side and consequently a 4 star overall for front crash rating. For rollovers, the 4Runner scores 3 out of 5 stars.
2017 Volkswagen Touareg
The Volkswagen Touareg has yet to be rated by the NHTSA. It does, however, rate ‘good’ on the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).
2018 Volkswagen Atlas 5/5
The Volkswagen Atlas is available in FWD and AWD. Available in a 2.0 liter turbo or 3.6 V6, The Atlas gets an overall safety rating of 5 stars. Front driver side crash rating is 4 stars, passenger side gets 5 though. So the overall front crash rating is 5 stars. For side crash ratings the Volkswagen does superb and gets 5 stars on all 7 side crash tests. Rollover crash rating is 4 stars.
2017/18 Ford Edge 5/5
The Ford Edge is also available in FWD or AWD. It scores amazingly in the crash test with an overall score of 5 stars. The Edge gets 5 stars for all front crash tests. It also gets 5 stars in every single side crash test. Rollover safety rating is 4 stars.
2017 Ford Explorer 5/5
Ford’s Explorer does pretty well too, also with an overall crash test rating of 5 stars. The vehicle gets 4 stars for front driver side crash rating but 5 stars for the passenger side. Overall front crash rating is 5 stars. For the side crash tests, the Explorer also gets 5 stars for every test. Rollover is also 4 stars the same as the Edge.
2017 Dodge Durango 4/5
The Dodge Durango is available in FWD and AWD, with a 3.6 liter V6, a 5.7-liter HEMI® V8 and the 6.4liter HEMi® V8. The front driver’s side crash test gets 4 stars but passenger side gets 5. Overall frontal crash test rating is 5 stars. For the side impact tests, the Durango gets full marks of 5 stars all around. It is also noted on there that during the side crash on the driver’s side, “This vehicle rolled onto its side after impact in a side MDB NCAP test”. Rollover crash rating is 3 stars.
2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5/5
The Grand Cherokee scores the maximum amount of stars for overall safety rating getting 5. The Jeep gets 5 stars for every single crash test except the rollover test, where is scores 4 out of 5 stars. Frontal crash and side crash tests all score the max 5 stars.
2017 Buick Enclave 5/5
The Buick Enclave is a 3rd row vehicle available in AWD and it gets the maximum 5-star safety rating. Frontal crash test results are all 5 stars as well as side impact test scores. For rollover, the Enclave gets 4 stars. The 2018 body style is different and as of yet, not crash test results are available.
2017 Chevrolet Traverse 5/5
Based off the same platform as the Enclave, not surprisingly, the Traverse alls scores full marks. The Traverse gets a 5-star overall safety rating. 5 stars all round for frontal crash rating and side crash rating. Rollover is 4 stars. The 2018 body style is different and as of yet, no crash test results are available on NHTSA.
2017 GMC Acadia 5/5
The new shape 2017 Acadia gets 5 stars all round except rollover crash test, where it gets 4 stars the same as the other two.
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