As cars become safer and safer, two of the world's most renowned off-roaders, the Suzuki Jimny and Jeep Wrangler, continue to be put in the spotlight over safety concerns.
The Wrangler made global headlines late last week following a unique crash test in the United States, where it rolled over onto its side during a 'small overlap front' test. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), who conducted the test, said the roll-over was "not an acceptable outcome for a frontal crash", labelling its rating as "Marginal".
Photo / IIHS
The flip occured twice in two IIHS tests. Jeep reportedly requested a change of prepulsion system for the second test, in order to confirm that it was the car and not the process causing the roll, only for the Wrangler to roll a second time.
"Rollovers — even partial ones like those that occurred in the Wrangler tests — are especially dangerous crashes, in part due to the risk of complete or partial ejection," they said. "This is a particular concern in the Wrangler, which has a roof and doors that can be removed. The Wrangler also lacks side curtain airbags designed to deploy in a rollover to keep occupants inside."
The result comes under scrutiny from both Europe's NCAP organisation and Australia's ANCAP organisation, regarding the safety of the Wrangler. In the case of ANCAP, the Wrangler initially scored a one-star safety rating in its first test, before being bumped to a three-star rating.
These adventure off-roaders find themselves vulnerable to modern crash testing because of simpler construction and, in the case of the Wrangler, a unique detaching glasshouse made for those out adventuring.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reponded to the test by saying it will "evaluate" the IIHS' results.
"While all of these results validated the vehicle’s structural integrity, we continue to evaluate them, as we do all third-party ratings. We routinely consider such third-party evaluations during our product-development processes," it said in a brief statement.
In a separate statement, FCA reiterated their support of the Wrangler's safety capabilities, while also saying that real-world data sourced from the over 500,000 Wrangler's it claims to have already sold worldwide does not support the IIHS's findings.
"From this population, we are unaware of any incidents that correlate to the vehicle dynamic portion of the IIHS test result," FCA said. "With more than 75 available safety and security features, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited meets or exceeds all federal safety standards and continues to win acclaim from news organizations and consumer groups.
"FCA routinely monitors third-party evaluations and factors such findings into our product-development process. We design our vehicles for real-world performance. And real-world data, along with continuing demand, indicate the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited meets or exceeds customer expectations."
It's been reported in the US that FCA is now considering making changes to the Wrangler, although those claims have not been confirmed.