Mixed Results in ANCAP Safety Ratings for Jeep Grand Cherokee Variants

ANCAP Safety, the trusted authority on vehicle safety in Australia and New Zealand, has released the safety ratings for the variants of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The long-wheelbase (LWB) seven-seat 3.6 litre petrol variant (Jeep Grand Cherokee L) and the short-wheelbase (SWB) five-seat 2.0 litre PHEV both scored the highest possible ANCAP safety rating of five stars. However, the safety rating for the SWB five-seat 3.6 litre petrol variant was restricted to four stars.

The lower rating for the SWB petrol variant was due to a difference in the performance of the seatbelts fitted to the second-row outboard seats compared with the seatbelts in the LWB petrol and SWB PHEV variants. As a result, it scored nil for rear passenger chest protection.

ANCAP protocols dictate that a nil score (indicated as red or poor) for a critical body region limits a vehicle's overall star rating to four stars, regardless of the total percentage score for Adult Occupant Protection.

"Both the long-wheelbase Jeep Grand Cherokee L and short-wheelbase PHEV delivered satisfactory results in all areas of testing and assessment, making them eligible for the five-star rating," said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

"The short-wheelbase petrol variants, however, recorded a poor level of chest protection, which is an issue that we urge Jeep to address," Ms Hoorweg added.

ANCAP strongly encourages Jeep to implement a production change to enhance the safety performance of the rear outboard seatbelts.

Specification differences, such as different powertrains, body styles, and driven wheels, can all impact safety performance. These results underline the importance and rigor of independent vehicle safety testing in providing Australian and New Zealand consumers with relevant information regarding the vehicles supplied to these markets.

The MY23 variant ANCAP Safety Ratings for the Jeep Grand Cherokee are yet to be confirmed.

All variants of the Jeep Grand Cherokee come with dual frontal, side chest-protecting, and side head-protecting airbags for the first, second, and third rows, where applicable, as standard features. Driver and passenger knee airbags are also fitted. However, a center airbag to prevent occupant-to-occupant and occupant-to-vehicle interaction in side impact crashes is not offered.

The Grand Cherokee's active safety systems performed well in both daytime and night testing of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) functionality with other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. However, the Jeep Grand Cherokee does not offer AEB functionality to assist in intersection (junction) scenarios, so this was not tested or scored.