Seven electric vehicles tested for safety were found to provide excellent protection for the driver and solid protection for rear passengers, according to a Sept. 16 release from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The independent research institute tested the 2025 BMW i4, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, Nissan Ariya, Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID.Buzz.
Most of the EVs scored well in tests of driver protection, but rear seat passenger safety “is what differentiates vehicles,” IIHS said in the release.
In addition, all of the vehicles underwent the institute’s moderate overlap test, a frontal crash test that simulates an offset crash between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions at 40 miles per hour. In this test, the i4, Blazer EV, Cybertruck and ID.Buzz all earned IIHS’s top rating of “good,” but the other three vehicles fell short based on injury metrics of the rear seat dummy.
The Model 3 was rated “acceptable” because of a “somewhat elevated” risk of chest injuries for rear seat passengers, IIHS reported. The Ariya’s “marginal” rating was due to a high risk of chest injuries for back seat riders. The F-150 Lightning received the lowest IIHS rating of “poor” because of a high risk of chest, head and neck injuries for rear seat passengers, as well as an increased risk of internal injuries due to lap belt movement.
The institute began testing vehicle back seat safety performance in 2022, updating the moderate overlap front test to include injury data of a rear dummy in order to “push manufacturers to address [the] gap” between front seat and back seat safety advancements, as IIHS explained in March.
Meanwhile, the pedestrian crash avoidance results were stronger among the EVs tested, with all seven earning ratings of either “good” or “acceptable.”
Outside of crash tests, the IIHS evaluated the seven EVs’ headlight effectiveness, seat belt reminder systems and ease of installing child restraints of the seven EVs.
Headlight performance stood out, as the illumination ratings suggest “room for improvement across the board,” Joe Young, IIHS director of media relations, said in an short IIHS video on the new safety evaluations.
None of the tested EVs achieved a “good” headlight rating, with five — the Blazer EV, F-150 Lightning, Ariya, Model 3 and ID.Buzz — ranking “acceptable.” The i4 received “marginal” and “poor” ratings depending on the trim and the Cybertruck received a “poor” rating due to excessive glare.
