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When it comes to car-buying, there are a few things shoppers hold dear. Fuel economy, for example, is important to many car shoppers. Safety is another top factor for the average car buyer. That’s why shoppers look at IIHS and NHTSA safety ratings before they buy. However, if a small American SUV is your intended, you won’t find a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating in the mix. 

The Ford Escape, Chevrolet Trax, and Ford Bronco Sport fell short of putting an American SUV in the top safety rankings

16 small SUVs earned the coveted “Top Safety Pick” and “Top Safety Pick+” ratings for the 2024 and 2025 model years. However, not one award-winner hailed from an American automaker. Among the most popular top scorers, the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-30, and Subaru Forester all took home the Top Safety Pick+ rating in the latest crash and safety tests.

On the other hand, the 2025 Ford Escape missed an award due to two “Moderate” ratings in crashworthiness and crash avoidance evaluations. For starters, the Escape scored quite poorly in the updated side-impact testing. The crash simulations indicated potential injuries to the test dummies’ torsos and pelvises. Worse yet, the IIHS evaluation called driver head protections in a crash “inadequate.”

The news doesn’t improve more for the Chevrolet Trax, the Bow Tie’s smallest SUV.  In the updated frontal crash testing, the Trax scored a “Poor” rating, the worst subcategory score in the range. Troublingly, the IIHS reported that the little American SUV had a marked possibility of rear passenger head and neck injuries in a head-on crash. 

What’s more, the Ford Bronco Sport suffers from a similar issue as the Escape, one of its Blue Oval siblings. The Bronco Sport rides on the same front-wheel drive (FWD) unibody C2 platform as the slightly longer Escape. As such, the Bronco Sport faltered in the same updated side impact testing as the Escape.

In addition to the IIHS ratings, the 2025 Ford Bronco Sport doesn’t yet have a safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It’s the same story for the mechanically similar Ford Escape. However, the 2025 Chevrolet Trax received a four-star rating from the NHTSA, just missing the safety agency’s top five-star rating. 

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Staff Writer

Erik Sherman

Erik Sherman is a MotorBiscuit Staff Writer, an admitted petrolhead, a survivor of classic cars, and an avid motorcyclist. Erik covers Tesla daily, including the Model Y and Cybertruck. Erik also covers Toyota, often discussing the Tundra, Tacoma, RAV4, 4Runner, and Camry. Erik also has extensive experience with military and emergency vehicles, ranging from ambulances and fire engines to MRAPs and Humvees. Erik is a United States Marine Corps combat veteran, a former water survival specialist, and a former firefighter/EMT. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

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