How Safe Is the 2027 Ford Explorer?

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• The Ford Explorer is a mid-size three-row SUV with rear- or all-wheel drive.
• The 2027 Explorer earned an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick.
• Only the lack of one test kept it from earning the top safety award.

The Ford Explorer is unique in its class. Of its competitors, only the Mazda CX-90 offers rear- or all-wheel drive; the rest of the group are based on front-wheel-drive platforms. It’s also sportier than most rivals, and according to recent testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it’s among the safest. The Explorer qualified for the Institute’s second highest honor, Top Safety Pick, and missed out on the top Top Safety Pick+ due to something of a technicality.

Related: How Much Is the 2027 Ford Explorer?

IIHS performs three crash tests and also evaluates how well a vehicle’s onboard forward collision warning system helps it avoid or mitigate crashes with both other vehicles and pedestrians, as well as how well its headlights illuminate the road in the dark.

Each test is scored on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal or poor. To earn TSP honors, a vehicle must post a good score in all three crash tests, and an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian avoidance and headlight evaluations. The TSP+ award builds on that by requiring a good score in the pedestrian avoidance test and an acceptable or good score in the vehicle-to-vehicle collision avoidance test.

The Explorer posted a good score in every test and evaluation it was subjected to, but it missed out on the top honor because its vehicle-to-vehicle collision avoidance system was not evaluated — at least not yet. 

This table shows the Explorer’s test scores. Note that in this and the following table, NT means the vehicle wasn’t subjected to that test and slash values mean split results based on different equipment options.

2027 Ford Explorer Crash-Test Scores

Crashworthiness

IIHS puts vehicles through a side impact test and two frontal crash tests. The side impact test places the subject vehicle in a stationary position and T-bones it with a sled speeding along at 37 mph. The sled is designed to simulate a modern SUV; it weighs about as much as one and sits at the approximate height of one, as well. Crash-test dummies are belted into the driver’s seat and into the rear seat behind the driver, and the impact comes on the driver’s side. Based on measurements of possible injury to those dummies, the Explorer posted a good score in the test. 

The small front overlap test recreates the forces generated when a vehicle steers off the road and hits a tree or pole. Traveling at 40 mph, the subject vehicle hits a rigid barrier that impacts 25% of the width of its front end. Again, the Explorer scored good here.

The moderate front overlap test was updated in 2022 to add a dummy in the rear seat behind the driver, and again in 2024 to measure compression to the rear dummy’s chest and to evaluate the position of the rear seat belt on the dummy. This test approximates a head-on collision that could happen when a vehicle crosses the road centerline and encounters an oncoming vehicle. This time, it impacts a barrier that involves 40% of its front end. The deformable honeycomb facing on the barrier is designed to simulate the crash forces of both vehicles traveling just under 40 mph. Again, dummies are in the driver’s seat and the seat behind the driver. Like the other crash tests, the Explorer scored a good rating.

Crash Avoidance and Mitigation

IIHS evaluates front crash prevention systems for how quickly they detect both pedestrians and other vehicles and warn the driver, and then how much they slow down the subject vehicle or bring it to a complete stop to lessen the severity of a collision or prevent it entirely. 

IIHS conducts its pedestrian front crash prevention evaluation at several speeds to see how well it deals with three types of pedestrians: a child crossing the road during the day, an adult crossing at night, and an adult walking along the side of the road in the direction of the vehicle’s travel at night. The tests are run with the high beams both on and off. The Explorer scored good here even though acceptable is, er, acceptable for the TSP award.

The vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation measures the subject vehicle’s ability to detect a car, a motorcycle and a semitrailer. The car and motorcycle tests are conducted with the subject vehicle in the center of the lane and offset to both sides. Not being subjected to this test is what prevented the Explorer from earning the top award.

Versus Competitors

The Explorer is one of just three three-row mid-size SUVs to earn an IIHS award. The Kia Telluride and related Hyundai Palisade each took the top Top Safety Pick+ honors, but rivals such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Traverse and Honda Pilot failed to earn any at all. Perhaps the Explorer will also get a TSP+ rating when its vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention system is evaluated.

Read More About the Ford Explorer on Cars.com:

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• 9 Additional Vehicles Earn IIHS Crash-Test Accolades
• Which SUVs Can Tow at Least 5,000 Pounds?
• Which 3-Row SUVs Offer Captain’s Chairs for 2025?
• Is the 2025 Ford Explorer a Good 3-Row SUV? 4 Pros, 3 Cons

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