Rollover resistance is one of the three components in the NHTSA overall score. Across 2,341 records, the lowest result appears exactly twice — the same vehicle, two consecutive years.
| 2024–2025 Ford Transit | Score |
|---|---|
| Frontal impact | 3 stars |
| Side impact | 5 stars |
| Rollover | 1 star |
| Overall | 3 stars |
Five stars in one test, one star in another
The same vehicle takes full marks for side impact and the lowest possible score for rollover. That gap is the clearest illustration available of why an overall rating hides more than it shows — averaged together, these become a middling three.
The physics is straightforward. A tall cargo van has a high centre of gravity relative to its track width, and rollover resistance is essentially a measure of that ratio. No amount of structural engineering changes the shape.
It's a category problem, not a Ford problem
| Vehicle type | Rollover ≤3 stars | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | 38.4% | 66 of 172 |
| SUV | 13.1% | 128 of 978 |
| Car | 2.8% | 31 of 1,105 |
| Van | 0% | 0 of 72 — except the Transit |
Pickups score three stars or fewer on rollover 38.4% of the time — nearly fourteen times the rate for cars. It's the single most common reason a tall vehicle misses five stars overall, and it's why Jeep averages 4.09 across its range.
Why this matters more than the number suggests
Rollover crashes are relatively rare and disproportionately deadly. And unlike frontal or side impact, the risk is partly under the driver's control — most rollovers are single-vehicle events triggered by an avoidance manoeuvre or leaving the road.
Load makes it worse. A van loaded high, or a pickup with weight above the bed line, raises the centre of gravity further. The tested figure is for an empty vehicle.
What to do with it
Read the components, not the overall. A three-star overall built from 5-3-1 is a completely different vehicle from one built from 3-3-3.
Load low. In a van or pickup, heavy items belong on the floor and forward of the rear axle.
Electronic stability control does the heavy lifting. It's been mandatory since 2012 and prevents far more rollovers than structure survives. On an older commercial vehicle, check it's fitted and functioning.
Check the specific vehicle. Ratings vary by configuration and wheelbase within a model, and a vehicle with unrepaired safety recalls doesn't perform to its rating regardless. A VIN check shows what's open. We covered why side impact scores so well in cars survive being hit from the side better than from the front.
Frequently asked questions
Which vehicle has the worst rollover rating?
The 2024 and 2025 Ford Transit, the only one-star rollover scores across 2,341 crash test records. The same vehicle takes five stars for side impact and three for frontal, averaging to a three-star overall.
Why do tall vehicles score badly on rollover?
Rollover resistance measures the centre of gravity relative to track width. A tall cargo van or pickup has an unfavourable ratio by design, and no structural engineering changes the shape.
How common are poor rollover scores?
Pickups score three stars or fewer 38.4% of the time — 66 of 172 — against 13.1% for SUVs and just 2.8% for cars. It's the most common reason a tall vehicle misses five stars overall.
Can I reduce rollover risk?
Partly. Most rollovers are single-vehicle events from avoidance manoeuvres, so electronic stability control — mandatory since 2012 — prevents far more than structure survives. Loading heavy items low and forward of the rear axle also helps.
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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