Just because a car is legally safe to drive doesn’t mean it’s perfectly safe. It’s not uncommon for models to meet or even exceed federal safety standards in some areas while lacking in others.
Consumer Reports, the not-for-profit consumer organization, regularly tests vehicles in the U.S. The group has found at least 10 vehicles that meet the government’s standards but lack at least two of the minimum qualities that it deems necessary to keep drivers and their passengers safe.
Those qualities can range from features like automatic emergency braking — which, thanks to recent rule-making, will be required in most vehicles by 2029 — to how risky it is for cars to unintentionally roll away. Consumer Reports also gives vehicles a score out of 100 — just two of the following vehicles have a score greater than 60.
Here are ten vehicles that just aren’t as safe as rivals on the market, according to Consumer Reports.
Chevrolet Silverado 1500
The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup has an overall score of 56/100, making it a better pick than others on Consumer Reports’ rankings.
Although the Silverado has solid acceleration and transmission performance, and its brakes likewise performed well, the truck scored 3/5s on the nonprofit’s testing for routine and emergency handling. That can be a problem for just about any driver on the road, but it is especially dire when something goes wrong.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which regularly conducts crash testing and other exams to determine how safe a vehicle is, found that the Silverado offers a mixed performance. The Silverado scored poorly when the IIHS examined how a crash from the side or front would effect passengers. In both tests, rear passengers suffered more injuries than the IIHS would like.
Dodge Durango
The 2024 Dodge Durango is actually the best-rated vehicle on Consumer Reports’ shortlist for less-safe cars. The three-row SUV, like the Chevy Silverado, scored a 3/5 on the nonprofit’s routine and emergency handling tests, although its brakes performed much better.
Another hit to the Durango’s reputation is that it lacks AEB features with pedestrian detection, which has become more and more important as vehicles get larger. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety likewise lowered the Durango’s rating due to its lack of an AEB system, although it scored the highest-available marks for its moderate overlap front and side crashworthiness testing.
Chevrolet Tahoe
The 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV is the poorer scoring vehicle of the two Chevy models on Consumer Reports’ shortlist, with an overall 50/100, largely due to reliability issues.
On the road, its transmission and acceleration scores achieved near-to or top marks, but its handling fell flat. In both routine and emergency situations, the Tahoe performed adequately, but not as well as drivers would likely expect.
Its braking scores also underperformed, scoring a 2/5. It took 145 feet for the SUV to go from 60 miles per hour to stopping. Vehicles that earned full marks, like the 2021 Masertati Ghibli, stopped in less than 120 feet.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the Tahoe performed poorly on its updated moderate overlap front crash test. It also scored weak marks for the institute’s tests of the SUV’s headlights and pedestrian front crash prevention.
GMC Sierra 1500
The 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 — which scored a 56 overall — took hits thanks to its middling scores on Consumer Reports’ braking, routing and emergency handling tests, although it performed well on several others.
The pickup truck also performed well on some of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s tests.
It scored top marks for the original crashworthiness tests examining its sides and front, although its score for side crashes was lowered by one ranking on an updated exam. In a small overlap front crash test — when just 25% of a given vehicle crashes into a barrier at 40 miles per hour — it scored an “acceptable,” due to the potential for driver foot and lower leg injuries.
Jeep Wrangler
The 2024 Jeep Wrangler is — by far — the worst of the vehicles included on Consumer Reports’ list, with a score of just 25; there are also five recalls out on the Wrangler, as of Sept. 5.
The Wrangler’s performance on the nonprofit’s braking, routine handling, and emergency handling tests was just a 2/5. Additionally, the SUV doesn’t have AEV features with pedestrian detection.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has only tested the Wrangler’s headlights and front crash prevention for pedestrians. On both exams, the Wrangler scored the lowest possible rankings.
GMC Yukon
The 2024 GMC Yukon is the final General Motors-owned vehicle on this list, and also the second-worst rated, just one point better than the Chevrolet (GM) Tahoe.
The Yukon’s best score came on Consumer Reports’ transmission test, with top marks, and acceleration test, with a 4/5. However, it had a mediocre showing on the nonprofit’s emergency and routing handling tests, as well as a 2/5 for braking. It took 145 feet for the SUV to come to a complete stop from driving at 60 miles per hour on dry land.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not yet released its evaluation of the 2024 Yukon. It last tested Yukon for the 2020 model year, although those scores are not available on its website.
Land Rover Defender
Land Rover’s 2024 Defender just barely missed the halfway mark, with an overall score of 47, according to Consumer Reports’ scoring, making it the tenth best luxury mid-sized SUV out of 17 total.
The Defender’s brakes are its weakest link, notching it a score of 2/5 on the nonprofit’s tests. It took 147 feet for the SUV to come to a complete stop from driving at 60 miles per hour on dry land. Its scores for routine and extreme handling also came in at 3/5, putting it on pretty even standards with most other models included on this list.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not yet released its evaluation of the 2024 Defender.
Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitusbishi’s 2024 model year Mirage is the second-worst vehicle in this ranking, only outmatched by the poor showing of Jeep’s (STLA) 2024 Wrangler. The 2024 version of the compact car has a 38 overall score, driven down partially by its 1/5 score for predicted owner satisfaction.
The Mirage scored poor scores for Consumer Reports’ tests for emergency and routine handling, braking, acceleration, and transmission. It’s also an extremely light car, coming in at just 2,048 pounds.
No matter how many safety features a car has, there’s no escaping the realities of physics,” Consumer Reports Auto Test Center manager of safety, Emily Thomas, said in a statement. “In a crash with a larger vehicle, a smaller vehicle is more likely to bear the brunt of crash damage.”
In some good news for the Mirage, it did score well on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s tests. The Mirage achieved top marks on the institute’s original moderate overlap front and side tests.
Lincoln Navigator
The “hulking” 2024 Lincoln Navigator SUV notched a 56 on Consumer Reports’ ratings, although its performance on some safety tests leaves much to be desired.
The Navigator scored 2/5s on Consumer Reports’ tests for routine and emergency handling, as well as braking; when dry, the SUV took 144 feet to go from 60 miles per hour to a standstill. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not yet released its evaluation of the 2024 Navigator.
Toyota Sequoia
The 2024 Toyota Sequoia three-row SUV is the final — and second-best — vehicle on Consumer Reports’ ranking, with a total 66/100.
Like most others on this list, the Sequoia missed the mark on the group’s braking, routine handling, and emergency handling tests, scoring a 2/5 for each. It did manage high marks for acceleration and transmission testing.
The Sequoia is also included in three recalls in the U.S., according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The latest recall — and the only one that owners have not been mailed letters informing them about — involves the hybrid Sequoia, which may have been equipped with faulty tow hitch covers.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not yet released its evaluation of the 2024 Sequoia.
Source Agencies
