Similar to small passenger cars, mid-size pickups don't offer good safety for the rear passengers. The IIHS recently tested no fewer than five crew-cabbed trucks, with the Nissan Frontier scoring acceptable in the updated overlap front test.
Acceptable is the overall rating, though. When it comes to rear passenger kinematics and restraints, the Frontier is marginal in the eyes of the nonprofit organization. The previous-gen Chevrolet Colorado (up to model year 2022) and previous-gen Toyota Tacoma (up to the 2023 model year) scored marginally as well, whereas their overall ratings in the updated overlap front test are both poor. Indeed, poor as in the worst.
The 2019 to 2023 model year Ford Ranger is marginal overall and poor for the rear passengers, whereas the Jeep Gladiator couldn't do better than poor overall and acceptable. A problem shared by all of these pickups is the rear passenger's head coming dangerously close to the front seatback. Dummy measurements indicated neck or chest injuries in most cases.
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