People often buy midsize SUVs at . But, as the designated transport provider, the chosen vehicle must offer the safety of advanced driver assistance technology to help avoid accidents and reliable protection of passengers in the event of a collision. As a three-row SUV, it’s hard to beat the current generation Explorer’s safety record.
Ford Explorer safety track record
Three-row Ford Explorer midsize SUVs manufactured after May 2020 have earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) award for three consecutive model years, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
from the highest honor because the award evaluation criteria have changed.
Why did the IIHS change the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ criteria?
IIHS President David Harkey says, “There are fewer winners this year because we’re challenging automakers to take advantage of the safety improvements they’ve already made,” according to .
For example, 101 vehicle models earned one of the top two IIHS accolades in 2022, while only 48 models qualified in 2023, with 20 TSP awards and 28 TSP+ winners. New IIHS testing criteria for 2023 include the following:
- Updated side impact test with 82% more impact energy than the original side impact test
- Headlight ratings acceptable or good required for all trim levels
- New night-time vehicle-to-pedestrian frontal collision avoidance test required for TSP+
While previous criteria such as moderate and small overlap frontal crash tests still apply, the IIHS has removed test scores such as “roof strength, vehicle-to-vehicle frontal crash avoidance, and headrest ratings from its award benchmarks.” this year”.
Safety features Ford Explorer 2023
Standard safety features included in every 2023 Ford Explorer include the following:
- AdvanceTrac with roll stability control
- Belt-Minder seat belt reminder
- Front passenger knee airbag
- Safety Canopy side airbag curtain
- SOS post-accident warning system
- Ford Copilot360
- Pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking
- Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert
- Lane keeping system
- Rear view camera
- Automatic high beams
Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist+, optional on some models and included on some higher trim levels, features the following:
- Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and lane centering
- Evasive steering assistance
- Post collision braking
In addition to the safety features and driver assistance technology of the Explorer, it provides access to your smartphone’s talk-to-text, automatically reading incoming text messages and giving you the opportunity to reply hands-free without ever taking the break view from the street.
You can also search for points of interest and navigate to them or call them or anyone in your phone’s address book, all with your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.
