This week the IIHS announced results of their crash testing for the 2015 Ford F-150 pickups, which had both good and bad news for its new all-aluminum body.
The good news is that the new full size crew-cab achieved Good ratings in the IIHS crash tests including the brutal new small-overlap test. As you can see here, the passenger compartment held up remarkably well.
In such, the Crew Cab earned a Top Safety Pick honor which bodes well for those concerned of the new pickup’s all-aluminum body structure, that it would not be as strong as the previous model’s steel body in a crash.
When it came to the clam-shell door Super Cab model, the testing went an entirely different direction. In the small-overlap test the cab structure crumpled up severely which earned it only a Marginal rating on the test.
The reason for the major differences the IIHS contends, is likely the fact that the Crew Cab version has additional frame bracing up front as shown here, which is missing on the Super Cab model.
Whether this is the smoking gun or a combination of the more open area cab design of the Super Cab is not entirely known, though the IIHS reports that Ford says that they are considering changes to the Super Cab as a result of these test results.
The standard cab at this point has not been tested, so it’s unknown whether its performance would be better or worse than one of the other two. At this point, bigger is better with the new F-150 when it comes to safety.
