Jeeps are iconic, impressive, and have a fervently dedicated fanbase, but the vehicles’ safety ratings—while not terrible—are not among the best on the road.

Jeep has been one of the foremost makers of rugged utility vehicles since the 1940s when the brand got its start as a military vehicle in WWII. The first Jeep for civilians came along in 1945, and ever since then, the name has been virtually synonymous with tough and capable.

But how safe are Jeeps?

Jerry

, the

car insurance

app, has compiled a handy guide to everything you need to know about Jeep safety ratings. We’ll look at the available safety tech, crash test ratings, and which Jeep performs best in an accident.

To round it off, we’ll also fill you in on how to find some outstanding savings on

Jeep car insurance costs

(or explore insurance for any other vehicle)!

Are Jeeps safe in accidents?

Most Jeeps bear some resemblance to tanks, which makes sense given the brand’s military roots. A steel frame, rigid chassis, and standard airbags might make you feel like you’re invincible—but with that bulk comes a high center of gravity.

When combined with a narrow wheelbase, this makes some models of Jeeps more prone to rolling over in side-impact crashes.

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Are Jeeps unsafe?

For an SUV, no—Jeeps are not unsafe. They are far more likely to roll over in an accident than a sedan, but that’s generally a risk you run with any higher-profile vehicle.

That said, Jeeps do rate a little higher on the risk of rollover than other brands. The

Wrangler

is particularly poor in this category, with a 27.9% chance of rollover.

But as grandma liked to say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Jeeps today come with a hardy suite of driver-assistance and crash-prevention technologies that all work to keep accidents from ever happening.

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The available safety technology on new Jeeps includes:

LaneSense Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist to help keep you in the right lane of traffic

Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking will alert you to potential collisions, and brake for you if need be

Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path Detection will help you see traffic and pedestrians that are in your blind spots or just about to cross your field of vision

Adaptive Cruise Control will maintain a preset distance to the vehicle in front of you by automatically adjusting the speed

Automatic High Beam Headlamps will automatically add extra illumination to dark roads, and then turn the high beams off when oncoming traffic is detected

And because you’re likely to be towing some outdoor toys with your Jeep, the ParkView Rear Backup Camera and the ParkSense Rear Park Assist System will make sure you can maneuver safely and with confidence.

The two safety rating systems you need to know

The two most important ratings of any vehicle’s safety come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These two bodies, a federal agency and a non-profit organization respectively, conduct tests to evaluate the safety of motor vehicles in the U.S.

NHTSA safety ratings

are based on a five-star system that they’ve utilized since 1993. Each vehicle gets an overall score (with five being the best), but NHTSA also breaks down individual ratings for the three major categories:

Frontal crash

Side crash

Rollover

IIHS conducts a series of

six tests

, including front and side crash tests, to determine safety ratings. They also evaluate the headlights and LATCH car seat attachments and consider both crashworthiness and collision mitigation.

IIHS ratings run from Good—the best rating possible—down to Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor (the worst possible score).

MORE: How to find vehicle safety ratings

Which Jeep has the highest safety ratings?

If you want to know which Jeep is safest in a crash, to be frank, there’s no runaway winner—and some definite points of concern. The inherently top-heavy design of a Jeep makes it prone to rollover accidents, which is where most of the vehicles lost points with the NHTSA.

To make things more complicated, the NHTSA and IIHS often seem to disagree with each other when it comes to Jeeps, and there is a fair amount of missing data for several models. Out of the vehicles listed here, the

Jeep Cherokee

has the highest marks overall, with four to five stars from the NHTSA and a Good rating overall from the IIHS.

2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee safety ratings

Starting price: $38,720

IIHS safety rating: Good for some categories, Marginal to Poor for small overlap front, Poor to Acceptable for headlights

NHTSA safety rating: 5 stars overall, 4 stars for front and rollover

The

Grand Cherokee

is one of the most popular models of Jeep, but the safety reviews are a bit mixed. It earned a five-star overall review from the NHTSA, but the IIHS was not as impressed.

In addition to the Marginal-to-Poor ratings for crashworthiness and headlights, the Grand Cherokee was given a Marginal rating for LATCH ease of use. This Jeep may have plenty of room for kids, but it doesn’t seem to be the best choice for a family vehicle on other fronts.

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2022 Jeep Compass safety ratings

Starting price: $26,390

IIHS safety rating: Not fully rated

NHTSA safety rating: Not fully rated, 3 stars for rollover

The IIHS and NHTSA don’t have a lot of data on the 2022

Jeep Compass

yet, but what they do have is less than impressive.

The only information the IIHS has is a Marginal rating for seat belts and child restraints. The NHTSA hasn’t fully evaluated the 2022 Compass yet, but its three-star rollover rating (with a 20% rollover risk) doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

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2021 Jeep Cherokee safety ratings

Starting price: $33,995

IIHS safety rating: Good overall, Acceptable to Moderate for headlights

NHTSA safety rating: 4 stars for overall, frontal crash, and rollover; 5 stars for side crash

The

Jeep Cherokee

fares better than its grander cousin, so maybe they should trade names? The IIHS gave the 2021 Cherokee Good ratings almost entirely across the board and a Good+ for LATCH ease of use. The NHTSA gave this one four stars overall, with a 17.4% rollover risk.

2022 Jeep Renegade safety ratings

Starting price: $24,195

IIHS safety rating: Good overall, Acceptable for side overlap front passenger side

NHTSA safety rating: 4 stars overall and for front and side crashes, 3 stars for rollover

The entry-level

Jeep Renegade

has a fairly strong showing with the IIHS, with Good scores for everything but the side overlap front passenger side rating. The headlights were all over the board depending on trim level, with the Sport trim getting the lowest rating with a Poor. LATCH ease of use was Acceptable.

This is another model that lost points with the NHTSA for rollover testing—it got three stars in that category, with a 22.8% rollover risk.

2022 Jeep Wrangler safety ratings

Starting price: $29,995

IIHS safety rating: Good overall, Marginal to Poor for headlights

NHTSA safety rating: Not rated overall, 4 stars for frontal crash and 3 stars for rollover

The popular

Jeep Wrangler

rated well with the IIHS, with Good ratings overall. It did lose some points for headlights but was rated Good+ for LATCH ease of use.

The NHTSA has yet to fully evaluate the 2022 Wrangler, but the overall rating for frontal crashes was four stars. On the other hand, the three-star rollover rating (and a 27.9% risk) is not as comforting.

2022 Jeep Gladiator safety ratings

Starting price: $36,480

IIHS safety rating: No information available

NHTSA safety rating: Not rated overall, 4 stars for overall frontal crash rating and 3 stars for rollover

The lone non-SUV in the lineup, the

Jeep Gladiator

, is the Jeep you might not know. The IIHS doesn’t seem to either—they don’t have any information for any model year.

The NHTSA gives the Gladiator a respectable four stars for its overall frontal crash rating, but another low mark in the rollover category with three stars and a 26.7% risk.

MORE:

Does Jeep have a self-driving car?

2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK safety ratings

Starting price: $37,375

IIHS safety rating: Good for moderate overlap front, side, and roof strength; Marigal for small overlap front driver side; Poor for small overlap front passenger side

NHTSA safety rating: 5 stars overall, 5 stars for side crash, 4 stars for frontal crash and rollover

This is another model where the results are all over the board. The NHTSA gave the Grand Cherokee WK five stars overall and a relatively good four-star rollover rating.

On the other hand, the IIHS had some serious concerns about the front driver and passenger side crash tests, and the headlights were rated Acceptable to Poor. LATCH ease of use also came in as Marginal, so this is another model that’s likely not the best choice for kids.

(In case you're wondering, we’re not sure what the WK stands for, and it appears no one else is either.)

2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Jeep Grand Wagoneer safety ratings

Starting price: $58,995 and $88,640, respectively

IIHS safety rating: No information

NHTSA safety rating: Not rated

The jury is apparently still out on the newest (and largest) offerings from Jeep, as there are no ratings available from either the IIHS or the NHTSA for the Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer.

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How you can save money on Jeep insurance

If you’re a Jeep fan, you’re a Jeep fan. So, let’s find you some good insurance to go with that “If you can read this roll me over” bumper sticker that your mom does not find comforting.

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