Jeep Wrangler rolls during crash test

Friday, 8 May 2020

Watch the Jeep Wrangler actually manage to roll over during a crash test.

It doesn't get any better for Jeep when it comes to crash test results for the latest JL Wrangler - the American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released the results of an audit crash test it recently carried out on the four-door Wrangler Unlimited.

The IIHS's verification test program relies on manufacturers to produce their own crash test results, but the IIHS conducts audit tests of some vehicles in the verification program to ensure the integrity of the program. The Wrangler was selected for one of these audit tests, which saw it only receive a 'marginal' rating in the driver-side small overlap front crash test.

Why? Because it embarrassingly tipped over onto its side after striking the barrier during the test.

This isn't where a car should end up after a crash test.

The IIHS says that the latest Wrangler, which was launched in the USA in 2018, was evaluated in three separate driver-side small overlap crash tests, one by Fiat Chrysler as part of the verification test program and two at the IIHS's Vehicle Research Centre.

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In both tests conducted by IIHS, the Wrangler rolled onto its passenger side after striking the test barrier, however, in the test that Fiat Chrysler submitted, the Wrangler did not tip over.

After the Wrangler tipped over in the audit test, Fiat Chrysler questioned whether this outcome was related to the method that IIHS engineers had used to attach the vehicle to the crash propulsion system.

So the IIHS agreed to conduct a second test using a different method, which was approved by Fiat Chrysler. The second test also ended with the vehicle tipping on its side.

The IIHS said that the Wrangler performed well by the 'normal metrics used to evaluate performance in the driver-side small overlap test' and that the driver's space was maintained well, and the dummy's movement was well-controlled.

However, it also said that the partial rollover presents 'an additional injury risk beyond what the standard criteria are intended to measure' and that a vehicle tipping onto its side is 'not an acceptable outcome for a frontal crash' and as a result, the Wrangler's overall rating was downgraded to 'marginal.'

The IIHS said that a rollover is a particular concern in the Wrangler, which has a roof and doors that can be removed. The Wrangler lacks side curtain airbags designed to deploy in a rollover to keep occupants inside because of this and it is also not required by US regulations to have side curtain airbags because of the removable roof.

The Wrangler earned 'good' ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, roof and head restraint evaluations, but poor ratings for both its base halogen headlights and premium LED projector headlights.

The Wrangler attracted controversy when it was released locally in 2019 and was only awarded a one-star rating by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) based on a similar single star outcome from the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP).

The ANCAP rating was revised up to a three-star rating later in the year when an updated added autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and blind-spot monitoring as standard across the Wrangler range.