Crash Tested: Jeep Compass Scores Five Stars

The model tested is for the left-hand drive markets which boasts a host of safety features, including automatic emergency braking, speed assistance, and lane assist system

Jeep’s recently launched Compass has gained a lot of praise from the automotive media. Now, it’s about to touch greater heights as the compact SUV has come out with flying colours in a crash test report. Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), the Belgium-based crash testing body, has awarded the Jeep Compass an overall safety rating of five stars.

The variant tested was the diesel 4x4 Limited that is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine meant for left-hand drive markets. However, the same set of ratings apply to all variants, including the right-hand drive ones, as well. Following the same standard operating procedure, the Jeep Compass was put through four different crash tests. These were:

• Offset-Deformable Barrier: The car is driven into a deformable barrier with a 40 per cent overlap at 64kmph.
• Full-Width Rigid Barrier: The test vehicle is driven into a flat rigid barrier with a complete overlap at 50kmph.
• Side Mobile Barrier: A deformable barrier mounted on a trolley is driven at 50kmph into a stationary car at right angles.
• Side Pole: The test vehicle is propelled sideways at 32kmph against a rigid, narrow pole.

In all these crash tests, safety aspects relating to adult occupants, child occupants and pedestrians are evaluated. In order to get a good score, cars not only need to have a crash resistant structure, but also various safety gadgets like airbags, ABS, ESP and automatic emergency braking.

In this trim, the Jeep Compass comes with a host of safety gadgets. For the driver and the front passenger, there are front airbags, seatbelt pretensioners with load limiters, side head airbags, side pelvis airbags, and visual and audible seat belt reminders. The front passenger’s front airbag can be switched off if need be. For the rear occupants, the seatbelts come with pretensioners with load limiters, side head airbags and ISOFIX child seat anchorages. Other safety features include automatic emergency braking (AEB) for city and inter-urban travels, speed assistance system and lane assist system.

For adult occupants, the compact SUV scored 90 per cent. From the tests, it is quite evident that the Compass is a safe SUV for both the front and rear passengers save for the chest protection of passengers sat in the back which was rated ‘marginal’. In the case of a pole impact from the side, chest protection was rated as poor. The AEB tech needs to be lauded here as it performed its task and avoided collisions at all test speeds.

The Compass scored 83 per cent for the child occupant safety. The Compass scored well in both the frontal offset and side barrier test. The ISOFIX anchorages work well to accommodate booster seats at the rear. However, chest protection for children above 6-year-old was rated as weak. Since there is a cut-off switch for front passenger’s seatbelt, a rearward-facing child restraint can be used as well.

For pedestrians, Euro NCAP reported that the bonnet of the Jeep Compass provided predominantly good or adequate protection to the head. The bumper, on the other hand, also showcased good protection for legs and the pelvis was well protected by the front end of the SUV. The AEB system has pedestrian-detection functionality and hence this section received an overall score of 64 per cent. AEB technology isn’t available on the India-spec Compass. The reason behind that is the Indian government’s reluctance to let carmakers use the frequency band for radar-based safety devices.

The safety assist category received an overall score of 59 per cent. The AEB system worked well in tests at highway speeds, with collisions largely avoided or mitigated. A driver-set speed limitation comes as standard and so does the lane departure warning tech.

The Jeep Compass is already a pretty tempting buy with its aggressive price tag and optional four-wheel drive system. The fact that the Compass has scored five stars in Euro NCAP crash tests will only make it even more popular among SUV buyers in several markets.

Also Read: Jeep Compass Bookings Zip Past The 10,000 Mark

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