Chevy, GMC, Toyota Midsize Pickups Earn Top IIHS Crash Ratings

A trio of midsize pickup trucks from General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. earned top ratings in crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

IIHS deemed the extended and crew cab versions of the Toyota Tacoma pickup and crew cab models of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon “good,” its best rating.

All four models were previously redesigned to meet the institute’s demanding 40 mph small-overlap front crash test. The procedure requires the left quarter of the vehicle’s front end to absorb the entire energy of the crash.

IIHS says the eight midsize models it tested often outperformed their fullsize cousins. The institute evaluated two cab versions of each truck because of structural differences between the sizes.

The Nissan Frontier midsize pickup’s crew and king cab variants were both deemed “marginal.” Those models were last redesigned 12 years ago.

None of the trucks qualified for IIHS’s”Top Safety Pick” designation because none has an automatic braking system and all had poorly rated headlamps. The institute introduced the latter test category in 2016.