They were both designed in different years would be my thought. The Highlander was shown in New York in April 2013 if I remember correctly so it has been around in its current form for at least 3 years. Not sure when the Pilot was first shown, but it has to be at least 2+ years newer. They had to do something after the abysmal test results of the previous gen.

 

You can attribute this to the changing test criteria. If the vehicle was not designed to a later standard it is likely to fail that test. As an example the offset test criteria was only recently introduced. This criteria requires that the vehicle crash into an object at the side of the front instead of full front crash

Totally correct. Crash tests are designed to make vehicles fail with every new update. It forces the manufacturers to continually update and improve safety in new ways.

Vehicles designed earlier will have a harder time in the new tests because they weren't initially designed with that particular test in mind.

 

You can attribute this to the changing test criteria. If the vehicle was not designed to a later standard it is likely to fail that test. As an example the offset test criteria was only recently introduced. This criteria requires that the vehicle crash into an object at the side of the front instead of full front crash

 

If you compare the 2014 Honda Pilot to the 2014 Toyota Highlander the Highlander actually fares better:

2014 Honda Pilot "Poor"

2014 Toyota Highlander "Acceptible"

For 2016 the Honda is an all new design and improves to a "Good" rating, but guess what Toyota made structural improvements to the 2016 (it was news to me too) even mid cycle and also earns a "Good" rating. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/02/2016-toyota-highlander-earns-iihs-top-safety-pick-plus.html

2016 Honda Pilot "Good"

2016 Toyota Highlander "Good"

For 2016 both vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick+ rating from IIHS, so you'll be fine choosing either one.

 

This just in....

The Toyota Highlander retains its top crashworthiness honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2016, improving its performance in the stringent small overlap front crash test. The 2016 Highlander earned the top rating of good on the test, up from the previous model's acceptable rating.
Read more at https://www.cars.com/articles/2016-...-highlander-gets-top-safety-rating-from-iihs-1420683872532/#FTJlHHuRHZV1U2bW.99

 

Who is the car designer, Pininfarina or AIG?

 

Dont recall...any idea what crash ratings were on 2014 ? Considering how far the front L. side got pushed back on 2016 HL test crash, makes me wonder what does inside (d.side) look like? Apparently test dummy survived, but wondering about "humans"?

 

The test dummies are instrumented to record pressure on various part of their body so their data becomes applicable to humans.

 

I get that. Never been in wreck like "crash test" shows & hope I never do.