New Jeep Wrangler Rolls Over in IIHS Small Overlap Crash Tests

The JL Wrangler may be new, but it's designed to look old-fashioned and simple, the boomer of 4x4. You'd expect it to be as dangerous in a crash as something built in the 1970s, and the IIHS videos give you that "I told you so" feeling.

However, the new chassis actually did its job very well. Look closely and you'll see how the front wheel comes off, but the passenger cell is left nearly intact. The small overlap test is something relatively new from the IIHS, and it involves putting most of the crash force into a small portion of the front end. The old Wrangler didn't perform as well in this scenario.

But there's no getting around how tall this traditional Jeep is. The impact tips it over onto its side immediately, resulting in a marginal crash test score. Despite this, the IIHS states that the "driver’s space was maintained well" and the "dummy’s movement was well-controlled."

So, in short, is this dangerous? Yes. The IIHS noted that "a vehicle tipping onto its side is not an acceptable outcome for a frontal crash," especially in the case of the Wrangler. If the top is removed, the passengers run the risk of being ejected from the vehicle.

It's at moments like this that we're happy the IIHS exists. You see, the organization is funded by insurance companies and covers tests the government doesn't.

And it does seem a little strange that the Wrangler is being subjected to the IIHS barrage only now, about two years after went on sale. This has to do not only with the institute having to buy its own cars to crash but also with FCA releasing a crash test video where the Wrangler didn't flip over.

There's been a lot of back-and-forth between the parties involved. But between this and the abysmal Euro NCAP results, it's pretty clear that we're not dealing with the safest SUV out there.