Ford's aluminium-body F-150 Super Cab tested safest pickup truck by industry research group

Ford Motor Co’s F-150 Super Cab pickup truck was the only 2016 model large pickup truck to receive a “top safety pick” after new tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the agency said today.

Two pickups built by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — the Ram 1500 Quad Cab and the Ram 1500 Crew Cab — received marginal overall ratings for their performance in a test designed to simulate what happens when a vehicle strikes a tree or another vehicle with just the driver’s side fender. One model made by General Motors Co and one made by Toyota Motor Corp also received marginal ratings in the latest round of tests, the IIHS said.

The IIHS is a research arm of the insurance industry, and its crash tests are increasingly influential in guiding vehicle safety design. Automakers strive for top ratings in IIHS tests as they do on federal crash tests.

The Ford F-150 went to a lighter-weight aluminium body for the 2015 model year. GM has questioned the strength of aluminium in advertisements, including one showing that people menaced by a bear prefer to be protected by a steel cage rather than an aluminium one.

The IIHS said the aluminium-body 2016 Ford F-150 Super Cab was the only pickup that scored an overall “good” rating in its small overlap crash test.

Last year, IIHS tested both versions of the F-150 and found that the extended car SuperCrew tested “good” while the SuperCab did not. Ford made changes to the SuperCab to win the top truck rating this year, the IIHS said.