WASHINGTON (AP) – The 2005 Ford Escape improved its performance in new crash tests by the insurance industry and earned the second-highest rating, according to results released Sunday.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released results for four vehicles. The 2004 models of the mid-size Volvo S40, the BMW 5-series luxury sedan and the Nissan Titan pickup all received the institute’s highest safety rating.

The institute tested each vehicle by ramming the driver’s side into a barrier at 40 mph. The highest rating of good means a driver wearing a seat belt probably could walk away from a similar crash with minor injuries.

The institute’s chief operating officer, Adrian Lund, said Ford made structural changes that improved the Escape’s performance. In 2001, when the institute last tested the Escape, crash tests indicated the driver would suffer a serious head injury. The Escape earned the second-lowest rating of marginal.

“The Escape still lags behind many other small SUVs that earn good ratings,” Lund said.

The Ford Escape is the only small SUV from the 2005 model year that has been tested so far.

The institute buys the vehicles it tests off dealer lots and tries to test most popular vehicles after they are newly released or redesigned.

Lund said most vehicles are now earning the institute’s highest rating on the frontal driver’s side crash test after nearly a decade of testing.