2018 Jeep Wrangler fails European crash test
 

<p align="justify"><img src=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zFFXmzG0GDc/maxresdefault.jpg alt="2018 Jeep Wrangler fails European crash test" width="325" height="185" hspace="10" border="0" align="left"/><strong>European crash testers gave the 2018 Jeep Wrangler a scathing one-star rating Wednesday.
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Europe's New Car Assessment Program said the off-roader earned the poor rating due in part to its lack of modern active safety equipment. The new Jeep Wrangler didn't offer automatic emergency braking on 2018 versions.

The rating comes even after 2018 Wrangler aced the side-impact crash tests, however. A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles spokesperson told The Drive that the Wrangler is safe enough to be sold around the world, and that the "JL got a perfect score on one of the side-impact tests—how many vehicles with removable doors can claim that?"

Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, said it's "disappointing" to see a new car on sale without active safety features such as automatic emergency braking and active lane control.

"It is high time we saw a product from the Fiat Chrysler group offering safety to rival its competitors," he added.

The 2019 Jeep Wrangler will add automatic emergency braking on Sahara and Rubicon trim levels beginning early next year, according to FCA.

If the Wrangler tested featured automatic emergency braking, it's likely the SUV would have received a much higher rating instead of its measly one-star performance. Overall, the SUV captured 50 percent of the maximum points available in the crash test.

Neither the NHTSA nor the IIHS has tested the new Wrangler in the U.S.

Some local expert car commentators have been foaming at the mouth about this finding, posting Youtube videos "celebrating" how the JL has been found to be a death trap because of the injuries received by the crash test dummies.

Does this mean that the JK recorded better results in head on/offset collisions to the JL? Given what Fiat Chrysler says about the side impact testing, it looks as if the side impact protection in the JL is an improvement over the JK.

Hmm, so it seems you have to have the latest tech to score the points, regardless if you have a car that is actually going to help save you in an impact situation. From my understanding, autonomous emergency braking only works below 30km/h. Most people I talk to about this feature are under the impression that you can be scooting down the highway at 100k/h and a kangaroo or pedestrian can walk out in front of you and the car will stop before hitting them! And active lane control - please, give me strength! All this is, is an attempt by manufacturers to outdo each other in the tech stakes to gain market share. On the other hand, it is also being successful in deminishing driver responsibility and accountability in preparation for driverless cars. When that occurs, we will be completely controlled by the prevailing authorities and the world will be a much ‘safer’ place for all.

Yeah, the JL was penalised for lacking the tech, but it performed pretty poorly in the actual frontal crash testing, too.

That's not good then.

I think any Body-on-Frame vehicle will struggle in front impact testing... the frame won't (shouldn't) crumple like the crumple zone in a unibody vehicle.

And emergency brake assist is just a bandaid to help with driver's not paying attention like they should.

2012+ gets 4 stars on ANCAP at the time they tested it. Today it would likely get 1 star from the NCAP assessment considering all the requirements (curtain airbags, seatbelt warnings for rear seat passengers, AEB, etc) but the crash test of the JLU doesn't look good in a frontal collision, and those passengers look a lot worse for wear compared to other vehicle crash tests in the segment.

The ratings systems are a point in time snapshot, the goalposts keep moving.

My old 2007 Aurion got 5 Stars back in 2007. It would be lucky to get 3 now....

I see what you mean but I guess the goalpost is really “how safe is this vehicle compared to other new vehicles I could buy right now”. But yeah, in a way it’d be better to just keep add a star to the system every year or two so that vehicles of different ages can be compared.

It's a disappointing outcome for the JL at best with over 4 billion invested at FCA in R&D it makes me wonder what they spent it on.

Even the latest Jimny scored three stars (with the goal post moved) in the same Euro NCAP testing.

My 2016 JKU has curtain airbags. I check my rear pax for seatbelts and I would never rely on electronic warnings. As for emergency braking, how is that going to help when a vehicle leaves the opposite side of the road and hits you in an offset position? There are times when swerving to avoid a forward collision may be a preferred maneuver than to have emergency brakes applied for you when a Mack truck is bearing down behind you.

There has to be a limit in how much driver function needs to be overridden by a computer.

Interestingly I witnessed a rear end collision between a Mazda 2 and an older 2wd hilux ute. The ute ran up the back of the Mazda not doing more than 50km/h. The Mazda looked like it had been hit by a Mack truck. It distingrated right up the the front seats. If there had been anyone sitting in the back, they would have looked like smashed avo and would have had no chance. The Mazda scores a very safe 5 star ANCAP.

You’ve given a very good example of why a ladder-chassis vehicle in this day and age should have AEB - vehicles that are bigger, heavier and that brake and handle worse than the average vehicle should have all the tools to avoid/minimise injury to other road users.

Also, I’m not sure the rear passengers in a Wrangler would necessarily fare a hell of a lot better in a 50kph rear-ender from a Hilux. They’d probably just have different injuries.

No injuries in the Mazda, they would have been killed, no chance of surviving.
But I do take your point for sure. What needs to happen though is that the right system is put into all cars i.e. the systems that will operate reliably and consistently, and not just work under 30km/h but the systems that will operate at high speed as well. As usual, there is a mishmash of different systems (Subaru for example) that rely on different tech, along with ones that work at different speeds etc.

Don't care still going to buy one. I don't rely on electronics to keep me safe on the road it's all about actually paying attention and driving defensively. I'm sure the new JL is safer than my JK. I'm also going to be changing all of these parameters by adding a bull bar, rear steel bar, solid steel rock rails, increasing the height via a lift. I'd love to see a 79 or 78 series Cruiser do this test and see how it performs. The people who love these tests hate real four wheel drives and want them off the roads altogether.

Australian auto experts were foaming at the mouth and screaming blue murder at FCA for engineering a poorly performing JL in crash testing. They haven't raised their heads at the latest Toyota Corolla issues. A car that can suddenly stop without warning, potentially at speed with a 22 wheeler bearing down behind it. Faulty CVT tranny. No mention yet about the class action against Toyota for a dodgy DPF on its most popular trucks and 4wds.... I feel my JK Wrangler is respectable when it comes to safety, and the JL even more so now that I read about the issues going on with other makes ... which have always been going on... and on....

They wouldn’t dare talk down Toyota, to many incentives offered. Hyundia realised this a few years back and got on the same bandwagon as Toyota which is why they get such raving reviews (but talk to cops about their Hyundai’s and their plastic steering components that snap off, along with their horrendous brakes in emergency situations). My new Hilux (2017) was the greatest heap I’ve had the displeasure of owning which is why I only had it for a few months, but interestingly it’s been all quiet out there about them, so good hearing there’s a class action with the DPF - it’s a shocker and if it was happening on a Jeep or Landrover, it would be on a Current Affair and 60 minutes!