The 2021 Jeep Gladiator has followed the Wrangler and fallen shy of a five-star ANCAP rating.

    The independent safety body has determined the Gladiator to have the same scores as the Wrangler off-roader upon which it’s based.

    That means a three-star rating overall, and scores of 60 per cent for adult occupant protection, 80 per cent for child occupant protection, 49 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 51 per cent for safety assist.

    “The structural issues we saw with the originally-tested Wrangler also apply to the Gladiator including A-pillar and cross-fascia beam failure, footwell intrusion, high seatbelt loads and excessive pedal movement. These remain an increased risk for occupants,” said ANCAP communications and advocacy director, Rhianne Robson.

    “Safety should remain a priority in all vehicle purchases, and this is no different for a vehicle of this type – particularly at this price-point.”

    A spokesperson from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles this morning said, “The Gladiator is a specialist off-road performance vehicle that has more than 70 advanced safety systems.”

    “This includes front and side airbags, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-path detection, parking sensors, a rear-view camera and autonomous emergency braking.”

    While better than the one-star rating initially applied to the JL Wrangler, ANCAP highlighted some key deficiencies in the Gladiator’s safety package.

    The autonomous emergency braking system, for example, doesn’t include pedestrian or cyclist detection, while the Gladiator also lacks lane-keeping assist and rear curtain airbags.

    In its testing of the Wrangler, ANCAP found protection for the driver’s chest and rear passengers’ necks to be weak, while rear passenger chest protection was poor.

    Elsewhere in the ute segment, the Toyota HiLux received a five-star rating from ANCAP in 2019, while the Isuzu D-Max – the first vehicle tested under the tougher 2020 protocols – also received a five-star rating.

    Wrangler aside, the rest of the current Jeep range has received five-star ratings from ANCAP in the past. These include the Grand Cherokee (tested in 2014), Cherokee (2016) and Compass (2017).

    William Stopford

    William Stopford is an automotive journalist based in Brisbane, Australia. William is a Business/Journalism graduate from the Queensland University of Technology who loves to travel, briefly lived in the US, and has a particular interest in the American car industry.

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