Top Safety Pick

2012 Ford Explorer

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2011-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Ford Explorer XLT 4-door 4wd

The Ford Explorer was redesigned for the 2011 model year and now shares the same basic design as the Ford Flex. Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Ford.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1014
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	5
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	16
Right (cm)	14
Brake pedal (cm)	9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	5
Right (cm)	5
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-1
Rearward (cm)	0
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1014
Head
HIC-15	261
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	8
Maximum Nij	0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm)	31
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.6
Femur force - right (kN)	3.0
Knee displacement - left (mm)	5
Knee displacement - right (mm)	2
Maximum tibia index - left	0.18
Maximum tibia index - right	0.60
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	65
Right	91

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2011-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Ford Explorer XLT 4-door 4wd with standard head curtain airbags for all three rows of seats and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Ford Explorer was redesigned for the 2011 model year and now shares the same basic design as the Ford Flex. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Ford.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1013
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-23.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1013
Head HIC-15	69
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.0
Compression (kN)	0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	22
Lateral force (kN)	1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	18
Average deflection (mm)	16
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.60
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.10
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.4
Combined force (kN)	2.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.2
L-M moment (Nm)	74
A-P moment (Nm)	23

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1013
Head HIC-15	46
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.0
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	23
Lateral force (kN)	1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	17
Average deflection (mm)	14
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.40
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.18
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.1
L-M moment (Nm)	56
A-P moment (Nm)	18

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Ford Explorer XLT 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	4,661 lbs
Peak force	21,347 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.58

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm)	28
Distance below top of head (mm)	28
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	9.0
Head contact time (ms)	62
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	540

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.