For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Tacoma have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Ford Maverick doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Toyota Tacoma has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Maverick doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The Tacoma has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Maverick doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, the Toyota Tacoma is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Ford Maverick, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Tacoma |
Maverick |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-18 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-13 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-8 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2 sec |
1.5 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-3 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
2.3 sec |
1.3 sec |
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Tacoma offers an optional Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Maverick doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Tacoma’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Maverick.
The Tacoma (except SR/SR5/PreRunner) offers an optional Panoramic View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Maverick only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
Both the Tacoma and Maverick offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the Tacoma with Blind Spot Monitor also has Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Maverick’s Cross-Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Compared to metal, the Tacoma’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Ford Maverick has a metal gas tank.
Both the Tacoma and the Maverick have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive and blind spot warning systems.
The Toyota Tacoma weighs 414 to 1769 pounds more than the Ford Maverick. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Toyota Tacoma Double Cab is safer than the Maverick:
|
Tacoma |
Maverick |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
107 |
146 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
357 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
45 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.31 in |
.67 in |
Shoulder Force |
112 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.71 in |
1.1 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
602 lbs. |
1272 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
96 |
295 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
2.2 in |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
580 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.81 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
12 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
535 lbs. |
848 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Toyota Tacoma achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Maverick is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.