ANCAP ups Jeep Wrangler to three stars

A YEAR after being awarded a woeful one-star ANCAP safety rating, Jeep has gone back to the drawing board and upgraded the Wrangler’s safety tech and returned to claim two more stars.

Jeep has added autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and blind-spot monitoring (BSM) to its rugged off-roader but ANCAP chief executive James Goodwin has warned the systems are sub-par and that the structural deficiencies identified last year have not been addressed.

“Unfortunately the upgraded AEB system fitted to updated models is not yet able to detect our most vulnerable road users in pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.

“Consumers should be aware that the structural deficiencies we saw with the originally-tested model such as A-pillar and cross-facia beam failure, footwell intrusion, high seatbelt loads and excessive pedal movement have not been addressed and remain a risk for occupants.”

According to the Wrangler’s technical report performance in the safety assist category has jumped from just 32 per cent to 51 per cent, while adult occupancy protection has improved from 50 per cent to 60 per cent.

Child occupant protection and vulnerable road user protection scores remained at 80 and 49 per cent respectively.

While the results are still not up to the industry standard, Mr Goodwin commended Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia for its work in improving the Wrangler’s safety.

“These upgrades are welcome, and I commend the local supplier for moving to provide Wrangler buyers in Australia and New Zealand with collision avoidance capability,” he said.

“While a three-star rating is still somewhat shy of the expected five stars, all upgraded models now have the ability to detect and assist with avoiding a crash with another vehicle – both in lower and higher speed scenarios.”

The new three-star safety rating applies to all Wrangler variants built from November 2019 onwards.