The new Jeep Wrangler has been awarded a shocking one-star safety rating by Euro NCAP. At the same time, in stark contrast, Europe’s independent vehicle safety body has announced a maximum five-star rating for the latest Hyundai Santa Fe and upcoming Ford Focus, Jaguar I-PACE and Genesis G70.
Applicable to all variants in their respective model ranges, the same five-star safety rating – based on the same more stringent 2018 test regime — has also been adopted by NCAP’s Australian affiliate, ANCAP, which also crash-tested the G70 locally.
However, ANCAP is yet to endorse Euro NCAP’s five-star rating for the new BMW X5 or the upcoming Audi Q3, Peugeot 508 and Volvo S60 and V60.
“The applicability of these results to Australasian-specified models will be determined in conjunction with local vehicle launches in 2019,” said ANCAP.
“A rating for Australasian-specified X5 models is yet to be determined as BMW has not provided access to a vehicle for local assessment. This model remains unrated in Australia and New Zealand.”
Nor has ANCAP applied the sub-standard one-star safety rating awarded to the new JL Jeep Wrangler — which arrives in Australia later than expected in late March or April – by Euro NCAP, which was scathing in its criticism of the off-roader.
“It is truly disappointing to see a brand-new car being put on sale in 2018 with no autonomous braking system and no lane assistance,” said Euro NCAP chief Michiel van Ratingen.
“It is high time we saw a product from the FIAT-Chrysler group offering safety to rival its competitors.”
However, Jeep Australia has defended the safety credentials of the new Wrangler, to which it hopes to fit autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as standard across the range before launch.
The Wrangler tested by Euro NCAP was an MY18 model that was not fitted with AEB, which is all but a prerequisite for a five-star safety rating from 2018.
All Australian-spec Wranglers will be MY19, in which AEB is standard in premium versions, but it’s not yet clear whether AEB will be available on entry-level Wrangler Sport variants.
Standard safety features across the range will include twin front and side airbags, reversing camera and parking sensors, while blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection will be available.
However, as with the previous JK Wrangler, which scored a four-star ANCAP rating under a more relaxed test regime in 2012, no JL Wrangler models are fitted with head or curtain airbags because they feature a removable roof, windscreen and doors.
“Safety is something we take incredibly seriously and every other member of our Jeep family of vehicles wears a five-star safety rating with pride, whether they have been crash-tested by ANCAP in Australia or by Euro NCAP,” said a Jeep Australia spokesperson.
“The Wrangler is a motoring icon. It’s a specialist off-road performance vehicle. Part of what makes it such an icon is the fact that its doors, roof and windscreen can be removed or folded down.
“Such unique features have formed an important part of its 77-year history, which have made the Wrangler such a long-standing symbol of off-road freedom.”
Jeep Australia is yet to confirm whether the new Wrangler will be crash-tested by ANCAP in Australia, or whether it would receive a better safety rating here if it was.
“The new Jeep Wrangler – an award-winning vehicle with unmatched capability and worldwide appeal – meets or exceeds federal safety requirements in every market in which it is sold,” said Jeep Australia in a statement.
“Further, the Jeep Wrangler is engineered to deliver superior performance and unique driving experiences under the most demanding conditions. Testing protocols that apply exclusively to urban scenarios may not align with such a vehicle.
“Notwithstanding such misalignment, the new Jeep Wrangler benefits from fully boxed, body-on-frame construction featuring pressure-formed front-rail sections, with high-strength steel in all critical areas.
“The vehicle offers more than 70 advanced safety and security features, including four standard-equipment airbags and, starting in early 2019, an advanced Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system that combines the benefits of camera and radar technologies.”
"It is truly disappointing to see a brand-new car being put on sale in 2018 with no autonomous braking system and no lane assistance," said Michiel van Ratingen, the secretary general of Euro NCAP, in a statement. "It is high time we saw a product from the Fiat Chrysler group offering safety to rival its competitors."
In the US at least, that high time isn't very far off. In its statement to Roadshow, a Fiat Chrysler spokesperson said that an integrated radar and camera module nestled behind the rearview mirror will give the 2019 Wrangler both automatic braking and adaptive cruise control capabilities. The automaker also reiterated that the car "meets or exceeds federal safety requirements in every market in which it is sold." It also stated that the Wrangler "is engineered to deliver... unique driving experiences under the most demanding conditions," and "testing protocols that apply exclusively to urban scenarios may not align with such a vehicle."
For context, the 2018 Wrangler achieved a three-star front crash rating in NHTSA's tests, and it has not yet been evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which subjects vehicles to tests and evaluations that go above and beyond NHTSA's efforts. Unlike Euro NCAP, NHTSA does not factor active safety systems into its final star ratings.