Nissan's new Titan pickup truck earned the top rating in a series of frontal offset crash tests, an auto insurance institute says.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety designated the truck a "best-pick" based on its performance in 40 mile (64 kilometre) an hour crash tests, putting it on a par with the Ford F-150, the best-selling full-size pickup.

The institute also gave the Volvo's S40 sedan and the new BMW 5 Series sedan its "best-pick" billing.

"New vehicle designs are offering much better protection than older designs for occupants in serious frontal crashes," said Adrian Lund, the institute's chief operating officer.

"Most new vehicles are earning good ratings in the institute's frontal offset test."

The redesigned Ford Escape sport-utility vehicle was the only disappointment, going from a "marginal" rating in 2001 to an "acceptable" rating this time round. There was some moderate intrusion into the footwell during the tests, and therefore a risk of injury to the lower leg and foot. The institute also noted the possibility for neck injuries.

"The Escape still lags behind many other small SUVs that earn good ratings in the institute's frontal crash test," Lund said.

The closely-watched test results are based on measures of intrusion into the driver and passenger compartment, injury measurements on a dummy driver and the effectiveness of seat belts and other restraints during the tests.