Ford Explorer scores high in crash tests

1 January 2002: The latest version of the Ford Explorer has earned a ‘best pick' designation from the US-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which tests vehicles by running the driver's side front end into a deformable barrier at 40mph.

The institute agreed to delay testing of the 2002 Explorer earlier last year while Ford engineers made structural changes to improve its performance.

SUVs as a class performed better in the tests this year. None got a poor evaluation although some were rated ‘marginal’, including the 2002 Jeep Liberty (Cherokee) whose air bag inflated late because a sensor wire shorted out early in the crash.

DaimlerChrysler has recalled 120,000 Liberties to fix the problem.

January 2002