The Jeep Avenger is the smallest car in the brand’s model range, and last year was named car of the year in Europe.
The compact SUV hatchback also became popular with other car testers, and was named the world’s best family car in 2023.
Now it is seen in a new crash test by Euro NCAP, and the protection for children in the back seat receives a lot of criticism.
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“Mediocre” rating in crash tests
When the Jeep Avenger launched in October 2022, it was the brand’s first pure electric car, and was sold as “revolutionary in its segment”.
Now, however, it turns out that the old year’s car may not be as excellent as it seems.
The Jeep Avenger scored just three stars on Euro NCAP’s five-point crash safety rating.
For passengers in the front seat, crash safety was rated at 79 percent out of 100. In the categories protection for children, protection for vulnerable road users and driver assistance, the ratings were 70, 59 and 53 percent, respectively.
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Poor crash protection for children
The crash protection in the rear seat for ten-year-old children in a side impact was particularly bad. In this scenario, the car was rated “poor” for upper body protection.
It is also noted that the Jeep Avenger is not equipped with a system that detects when a child is sitting in the back seat, which is standard in many competitors.
In the event of a side impact, protection is poor for children – Photo: Euro NCAP
The car is also criticized for the lack of active safety systems, and that it performed poorly in several evasive tests involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
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Accused of skimping
After the poor results in the crash test, last year’s Car of the Year receives harsh criticism from Euro NCAP’s general secretary Dr. Michiel van Ratingen.
In one press release he says, among other things, that the tests indicate “a clear lack of ambition” from Jeep’s owner Stellantis – especially for a car that specifically targets the family segment.
The general secretary notes that Stellantis has had to make decisions to secure the future of its car brands, but says that security is not where money should be saved.
While the Jeep Avenger received harsh criticism in the latest round of NCAP tests, other car models performed “excellently”. These include the Audi Q6 e-tron, Ford Explorer, Xpeng G6, as well as Subaru Impreza and Crosstrek.
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