NHTSA gives every vehicle three separate scores — frontal crash, side crash and rollover resistance — then rolls them into the single overall star rating that ends up in the advertising. For most cars the three agree. For the biggest, most popular SUVs on the market, they do not.
| 2026 model | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac Escalade | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| Chevrolet Tahoe | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| GMC Yukon XL | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| Lincoln Navigator | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| Ford Expedition MAX | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| Jeep Grand Wagoneer | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| Ford Ranger | 5 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars |
Fifty-seven vehicle records in our data score a perfect five frontal and five side, then three on rollover. They are almost all large SUVs and trucks, and they are among the best-selling vehicles in the country.
Why the third score is different from the other two
Frontal and side ratings measure what happens to you in a crash — how well the structure and airbags protect a body. Manufacturers have gotten extremely good at this, which is why five stars is close to standard now.
Rollover measures something else entirely: how likely the vehicle is to tip over in the first place. It is calculated from the static stability factor — track width against centre of gravity height — plus a dynamic manoeuvre test. It is not a protection score. It is a physics score, and physics does not care how good your airbags are.
Tall, heavy vehicles have a high centre of gravity. That is inherent to the shape, not a design failure, and no amount of engineering fully removes it. Electronic stability control, mandatory since 2012, helps enormously — but the rating still reflects a real, measurable difference.
Why it matters more than three-versus-five suggests
Rollovers are rare and disproportionately deadly. They account for a small share of crashes and a large share of occupant fatalities, because a car folding over on itself does something a side impact does not: it can collapse the roof and it defeats how seatbelts are designed to hold you.
Which brings me to the one number in the whole dataset that stopped me: the Ford Transit scores one star for rollover. One. A tall, narrow van that seats up to fifteen people, sold as a shuttle, church bus and airport transport. Fifteen-passenger vans have a well-documented rollover history, and the rating says exactly that in the plainest language NHTSA has.
What to actually do with this
Not "do not buy a big SUV." They protect their occupants extremely well in the two crash types that make up most collisions, and they are five-star vehicles for a reason.
Do three things instead.
Read the three scores separately. The overall star rating averages them, which means a three-star rollover disappears behind two fives. Look up the individual numbers for the exact model and year.
Take the loading rules seriously. Rollover risk rises fast with roof loads and rear-heavy loading, because both raise the centre of gravity on a vehicle that already sits high. A roof box full of luggage on a three-star SUV is a genuine change to its behaviour, not a technicality.
Confirm stability control is present and working. On anything pre-2012 it may not be. It is the single most effective countermeasure to a rollover ever fitted to a car.
And check what is open on the specific vehicle: a free VIN check shows recalls, which on large SUVs frequently involve seatbelts, roof structure and stability systems. For how the overall rating is put together and where else it misleads, we went through it in what a five-star rating actually means.
Frequently asked questions
What is a rollover rating?
A NHTSA score measuring how likely a vehicle is to tip over, based on track width versus centre of gravity height plus a dynamic manoeuvre test. Unlike frontal and side ratings, it measures crash likelihood rather than occupant protection.
Which SUVs have five-star crash ratings but low rollover scores?
The Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon XL, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition MAX, Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Ford Ranger all score five stars frontal and side with three stars on rollover.
Which vehicle has the worst rollover rating?
The Ford Transit, at one star. Tall fifteen-passenger vans have a long-documented rollover history and the rating reflects it directly.
Should a three-star rollover rating stop me buying an SUV?
No, but treat loading rules seriously — roof boxes and rear-heavy loads raise the centre of gravity on a vehicle that already sits high. Also confirm electronic stability control is fitted and functioning, which matters most on pre-2012 vehicles.
Denis Kataev is a serial solopreneur and the founder of ForCar. With 15+ years in software engineering and 10 years in SEO, he builds data-driven products end to end — backed by a sharp eye for design. At ForCar he mines proprietary vehicle datasets, turning raw numbers into buying advice you can actually trust.
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