Abstract Crash boxes play a crucial role in cars by serving as energy-absorbing components, typically located at the front end. They are intentionally designed to collapse in a controlled manner during frontal collisions. The objective of this research is to enhance the energy absorption capabilities of crash boxes through the integration of strut-based lattice patterns. Initially, crash boxes of various geometries suitable for lattice insertion were selected and optimized by analyzing their energy absorption capacity using Abaqus software. The analysis revealed that the square crash box exhibited the highest energy absorption. Subsequently, the procedure entailed integrating various unit cell-based lattice patterns into square crash box. These constructed models were subjected to simulations to evaluate their specific energy absorption (SEA) performance, which is ratio of energy absorbed to its mass. The simulation outcomes conclusively determined the body-centered cubic (BCC) crash box as the most effective among the considered structures. During optimization, fine-tuning the BCC crash box has been done by adjusting unit cell dimensions and strut diameter, which boosts energy absorption by 30.16% compared to the initial square crash box. While comparing present structures with honeycomb structures, the peak load values in present structures are lower than those in honeycomb structures.