The Reason Why IIHS Degraded the Jeep Wrangler in the Latest Side Impact Test Round

The round saw 18 midsize SUVs lined up in front of the 4,200-pound (1,905 kg) mobile barrier for the punch of death. The good news is that 10 of them did an excellent job protecting their passengers, earning a “Good” rating. Two others were deemed “Acceptable,” while the remaining six offered only “Marginal” protection in a side impact. Among the latter was the 2021-2022 Jeep Wrangler, which would’ve qualified for a “Good” rating save for a design flaw.

The Volkswagen ID.4 and the Mazda CX-9 were the only ones to earn “Good” ratings across all driver and rear passenger injury measures. The Jeep Wrangler should’ve been next to them. Still, it does not come with a curtain airbag, probably to allow for the open-top experience that Wrangler owners appreciate. This comes with sacrifices, as the IIHS’s tests show.

The Wrangler only has a head-thorax airbag for the front seats, leaving the rear passengers unprotected in a side crash. Because of this, the head of the rear passenger dummy hit the vertical support of the vehicle’s removable roof and the window frame of the rear door. This was serious enough for IIHS to degrade the Jeep, which has to be content with a “Marginal” rating.

This is the second round of tests following the tougher side-impact rules, the first being in October 2021. IIHS tested 20 small SUVs back then, with only one scoring a “Good” rating. You’d think the situation has improved since then, but we guess it’s only because the heavier midsize SUVs were tested this time. Considering the barrier used in the tests had the same speed (37 mph/60 kph) and weight (4,200-lb/1,905 kg), the added mass made the SUVs perform better in the tests.