2021 Ford F-150 Tows in IIHS Top Safety Pick
Photo: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Ford just keeps on making its 2021 F-150 better and better. After launch, Ford dropped several new class-exclusive upgrades as well as the much-anticipated Raptor, improving an already stout truck. And now, thanks to improved headlights, the 2021 Ford F-150 has earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick.
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Ford F-150 earns 2021 IIHS Top Safety Pick with improved headlights
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on Tuesday revealed that F-150 Supercab and Super Crew models all qualify for the 2021 Top Safety Pick. This makes the all-new 2021 Ford F-150 and one of its fiercest rivals, the Ram 1500, the only pickups to pick up IIHS honors this year.
“The 2020 models of the two large pickups fell short of an award because all the available headlight systems on those vehicles earned poor ratings,” IIHS writes. “The 2021 editions of both vehicles are available with good or acceptable headlights at some trim levels, though a poor rating for the base halogens included with certain trims prevents them from earning the ‘plus.’”
In order to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick, the Ford F-150 has to earn “good” scores in all six crashworthiness tests and offer at least one headlight option rated “acceptable” or “good.”
Pushing the 2021 Ford F-150 over the top are the headlights offered on various models built after June 2021. The only thing preventing the truck from earning the highest honor, the Top Safety Pick+, are the halogen bulbs standard on all XL and XLT models and standard on the F-150 Tremor SuperCrew. The IIHS rated these headlights “poor” due to what it calls inadequate visibility.
The 2021 Ford F-150 polished off its IIHS Top Safety Pick qualifications thanks to the standard Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0 system and available Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist 2.0. IIHS rates both systems “superior” for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention. In vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention, Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0 earns the “superior” score while Ford Co-Pilot360 Assist 2.0 earns an “advanced” score.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.