I want a Gladiator but I’m concerned it’s not safe enough for a family vehicle

[Hootbro]

For some reason I picture you wrapping your kid in bubble wrap before you go outside the house.

As someone who grew up in the 1970's riding in the back of a land whale Detroit iron sedan without a car seat or using the seat belts, just about any vehicle made today is way better in terms of safety.

Not saying to not do your due diligence in selecting a vehicle, just live a little and do not be a slave to your fears. Balance of probabilities is your kid is going to make it to adulthood regardless.

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[WXman]

I've seen multiple roll over crashes involving Jeeps where the Jeep occupants literally got out on their own power and walked away. There's a reason FCA vehicles have such high curb weights compared to their rivals. They build them like tanks.

 

[Terry]

This is long, sorry! Feel free to skip to the TLDR.

I’ve been in the market to replace my very boring 2011 Honda CR-V for 2 1/2 years now. I’m getting older and want to treat myself to a vehicle that makes me smile every time I see it. The Wrangler and Gladiator are the only vehicles that do so. Every time I pass one on the road I get excited to an extent that’s pretty ridiculous.

I’d have bought a Jeep when I first started looking 2 1/2 years ago but there’s one thing that held me back. For most of my life when anyone would ask me what I looked for in a car I said I want something that’s safe, has a good sound system, and a lot of cargo space. As you can probably guess the middling safety ratings for the Jeep is what’s held me back.

Not a big deal for me. I’m a safe driver and have never been in an accident. And a questionable safety rating compared to the alternatives wouldn’t be a big deal if I was just talking about my life. But now I have a young kid and I don’t know how to square this in my head. I’d feel personally responsible if my kid was injured or worse in an accident that was made worse because there’s no side curtain airbags in the rear or because there’s a substantial chance of rollover, even in a front offset crash.

So I spent over 2 years looking for some other kind of car, suv, or truck that I could drum up a similar amount of passion for. I checked out the Land Rover Defender, Ford Bronco, and RAM Rebel. I also went in a different direction and looked at some cool new EVs and other crossover to midsize SUVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, Honda Element (lol), and others. At the end of the day, though, I don’t want a ‘nice’ car. I want a ‘fun’ car. And I don’t think there’s anything else that strikes a chord in me like a Jeep does.

Note that my wife has a newer Honda CR-V as well (lol) that we’d be keeping so it would always be available as a safe family car alternative except for when I need to take my kid someone, like daycare.

How does everyone look at this? How do you weigh your pros and cons? Am I overthinking or exaggerating the Wrangler and Gladiator’s safety issues?

And are there any recommended builds that prioritize on-road? Such as steel or plastic bumper: which is safer in a high-speed accident? Any significant difference in on-road between a Sport, Overland, and Rubicon?

And what about improving upon the Jeep’s safety with aftermarket customization. Such as lowering the center of gravity, adding some kind of thick padding around the roll bar and Hard Top where a rear passenger’s head could hit?

Thanks for reading.

TLDR: I’m obsessed with getting a Jeep Wrangler or Gladiator but feel guilty using it as a family car due to its poor crash rating. What should I do?

We have a JT Rubi and a Volvo SUV. Volvo is unquestionably one of the safest, if not the safest vehicle sold in America. I don't feel any safer in the Volvo than I do in my Jeep.

 

[dcmdon]

We have a JT Rubi and a Volvo SUV. Volvo is unquestionably one of the safest, if not the safest vehicle sold in America. I don't feel any safer in the Volvo than I do in my Jeep.

But you are.

 

[brianinca]

All those airbags are passive restraints because STUPID PEOPLE DON'T WEAR THEIR SEATBELTS. You're not going to be rolling with your children or you jumping around the interior of the vehicle, regardless of which it is.

Seatbelts prevent injury and death to a spectacular degree. It's still noted in CHP accident reports when a driver or passenger wasn't wearing their seatbelt, and frequently an assessment is reported they WOULD have survived had they been. In 2021. Over 50 years after seatbelts were mandated as standard equipment.

Don't be stupid and go drive what you want to drive. If that's a mini-van, cool, if it's a Jeep, cool.

Edit to add: My Dad put seatbelts (from an airplane) in his 51 CJ3 because it was a good idea. That was BEFORE he was a military and commercial pilot, you'd better believe we wore our seatbelts in the wild and wooly 70's!

TLDR: I’m obsessed with getting a Jeep Wrangler or Gladiator but feel guilty using it as a family car due to its poor crash rating. What should I do?

 

[Terry]

This is long, sorry! Feel free to skip to the TLDR.

I’ve been in the market to replace my very boring 2011 Honda CR-V for 2 1/2 years now. I’m getting older and want to treat myself to a vehicle that makes me smile every time I see it. The Wrangler and Gladiator are the only vehicles that do so. Every time I pass one on the road I get excited to an extent that’s pretty ridiculous.

I’d have bought a Jeep when I first started looking 2 1/2 years ago but there’s one thing that held me back. For most of my life when anyone would ask me what I looked for in a car I said I want something that’s safe, has a good sound system, and a lot of cargo space. As you can probably guess the middling safety ratings for the Jeep is what’s held me back.

Not a big deal for me. I’m a safe driver and have never been in an accident. And a questionable safety rating compared to the alternatives wouldn’t be a big deal if I was just talking about my life. But now I have a young kid and I don’t know how to square this in my head. I’d feel personally responsible if my kid was injured or worse in an accident that was made worse because there’s no side curtain airbags in the rear or because there’s a substantial chance of rollover, even in a front offset crash.

So I spent over 2 years looking for some other kind of car, suv, or truck that I could drum up a similar amount of passion for. I checked out the Land Rover Defender, Ford Bronco, and RAM Rebel. I also went in a different direction and looked at some cool new EVs and other crossover to midsize SUVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, Honda Element (lol), and others. At the end of the day, though, I don’t want a ‘nice’ car. I want a ‘fun’ car. And I don’t think there’s anything else that strikes a chord in me like a Jeep does.

Note that my wife has a newer Honda CR-V as well (lol) that we’d be keeping so it would always be available as a safe family car alternative except for when I need to take my kid someone, like daycare.

How does everyone look at this? How do you weigh your pros and cons? Am I overthinking or exaggerating the Wrangler and Gladiator’s safety issues?

And are there any recommended builds that prioritize on-road? Such as steel or plastic bumper: which is safer in a high-speed accident? Any significant difference in on-road between a Sport, Overland, and Rubicon?

And what about improving upon the Jeep’s safety with aftermarket customization. Such as lowering the center of gravity, adding some kind of thick padding around the roll bar and Hard Top where a rear passenger’s head could hit?

Thanks for reading.

TLDR: I’m obsessed with getting a Jeep Wrangler or Gladiator but feel guilty using it as a family car due to its poor crash rating. What should I do?

I'm going to go outside, take a huge drink from my garden hose, spray my yard with DDT, ride a bike with no helmet, go barefoot, and then stay out till the street lights come on playing football on the asphalt street. And... if I get a booboo, my mom will put some Bactine on it and a star studded Band-aid and send me back out to play. I understand being careful, but what I don't understand is the hand wringing, over the top examination of every single thing we do, use, ride in, go to, or eat and drink. For God's sake here in "The people's Republic of California" there is a safety tag on everything from condoms to collapsible chairs. It's the paint, it's the plastic, it's the metal, it's a damn dog dish, and the damn dog doesn't need a PhD from MIT to approve it's safe for Fido to eat out of.

 

[maligator]

I think my recommendation would be to not have kids jk. Jeeps are not the safest vehicles. Even the safest car doesn't guarantee anything in an accident. Jeeps are Sketchy in some ways and thats why some people love them. My brother has a Honda Ridgline and he stares lustfully at my Jeep. The wrangler and Gladiator are exempt from many of the crash test ratings so you really only get the front crash test which is pretty good, and the rollover which is like 3/5 stars.

Guess what though. If you get caught in a flash flood with your crv you don't have freedom panels to help get your kids out and safe:

I guess it's up to you though. I'm not a parent but it's your job to keep your kids safe, but I don't know that every decision in your life has to be to choose the safest option over everything, especially if you have other goals/desires.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

It's been safe in both accidents I have been in. No damage in one of them and minor bumper damage to my stock bumper in the other one. Both times the other vehicle had a decent amount of damage, including one car that was a total lose. I feel safe driving mine with the family in it and feel sorry for other drivers who decide to test it.

This guy hit me while I was sitting at a stop loading mulch on my JT in Home Depot parking lot. It pushed his fender back against his door and his passenger door wouldn't open. Only damage was a fist size dent in my stock bumper on mine, but the steel bu.0er was already on the way so it wasn't a huge concerns for me.

This guy pulled out of a road I was turning onto and swung out to far and clipped my rear driver side tire. Zero damage to mine and his was undrivable, he couldn't even make a left turn in it. I climbed right over his fender, literally like rock crawling, but I climbed his fender with my rear tire. The cop that responded couldn't believe that mine was undamaged.

I'd say stop worrying about it and get one. Once you lift it and put steel bumpers on the front and rear it may be safer than your Honda

Mine as it sits

 

[ShadowsPapa]

All those airbags are passive restraints because STUPID PEOPLE DON'T WEAR THEIR SEATBELTS. You're not going to be rolling with your children or you jumping around the interior of the vehicle, regardless of which it is.

Seatbelts prevent injury and death to a spectacular degree. It's still noted in CHP accident reports when a driver or passenger wasn't wearing their seatbelt, and frequently an assessment is reported they WOULD have survived had they been. In 2021. Over 50 years after seatbelts were mandated as standard equipment.

Don't be stupid and go drive what you want to drive. If that's a mini-van, cool, if it's a Jeep, cool.

Edit to add: My Dad put seatbelts (from an airplane) in his 51 CJ3 because it was a good idea. That was BEFORE he was a military and commercial pilot, you'd better believe we wore our seatbelts in the wild and wooly 70's!

I worked a lot with IHP and local police when I worked in the shop that did towing for them. It's amazing what I saw........... and like you said, what the troopers or police officers investigating the scene said.
When I was t-boned in my 77 AMX, the investigating trooper said my seatbelt and my car saved my life. He was amazed anyone lived through the accident. My collar bone was busted up because the passenger side door was right up against me but the guy was amazed to see no blood, and only a broken bone.
The stuff we towed in was sometimes enough to give you nightmares and some things to this day I can't unsee............. seat belts mattered, structure like pillars and other elements mattered.

I found a couple of pics of a Jeep I salvaged an engine from for my car. This is a 94 ZJ. It's been stripped of a few parts as the guy I got it from was selling off good parts. But note the A pillars, the roof, the cabin area - the guy missed a T intersection and this thing was flipped end for end and landed on the ROOF.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It's been safe in both accidents I have been in. No damage in one of them and minor bumper damage to my stock bumper in the other one. Both times the other vehicle had a decent amount of damage, including one car that was a total lose. I feel safe driving mine with the family in it and feel sorry for other drivers who decide to test it.

This guy hit me while I was sitting at a stop loading mulch on my JT in Home Depot parking lot. It pushed his fender back against his door and his passenger door wouldn't open. Only damage was a fist size dent in my stock bumper on mine, but the steel bu.0er was already on the way so it wasn't a huge concerns for me.

This guy pulled out of a road I was turning onto and swung out to far and clipped my rear driver side tire. Zero damage to mine and his was undrivable, he couldn't even make a left turn in it. I climbed right over his fender, literally like rock crawling, but I climbed his fender with my rear tire. The cop that responded couldn't believe that mine was undamaged.

I'd say stop worrying about it and get one. Once you lift it and put steel bumpers on the front and rear it may be safer than your Honda

Mine as it sits

Damn that's a nice looking truck.........

 

[Florida Mojave]

Bottom line... if it makes you feel like that - just looking at it - just imagine the way your gonna feel owning and driving and caring for this fabulous new family member!!!
No Regrets here!!!

 

[Hipbilly]

We've been hauling my offspring (almost 4yo now) for a couple years and have zero hesitancy about his safety... He rides forward facing in the middle seat in back.
My wife objects to him riding on real roads (intersections or multiple lanes) with the doors off, so I got a set of JCR aluminum Half doors, she's satisfied with that. with the full doors on AND the roll cage? I sure trust it more than the mustang we used to haul him in....

 

[Oilburner]

Jeep makes me Happy.
Jeep is Freedom.
With Freedom there is always risk.

 

[Higher_Ground]

Hard to dispute crash testing but most of the real-world examples I've seen over a year haven't led me to think it's dangerous. In fact usually the opposite - the person driving the Jeep had less damage.

That being said most all of us who haven't survived a bad wreck take for granted how dangerous driving can be. I'm glad to never have been in a serious accident (only been rear ended at low speed).

I find my self driving a bit more cautiously in the Jeep than I would in my old car. It's a lot heavier and I guess since it's new I'm more paranoid about someone hitting me.

 

[AZJT]

Just go buy yourself a Jeep already (I'd advocate for the Gladiator). I'd always admired Jeeps, but have always driven trucks. Lo and behold, the Gladiator comes along and I snatched one up in Feb. 2020. I have no concerns at all about the safety - this thing is solid, sits high, and has not let me down in any way. And yes, it's fun to drive, too (especially topless and/or doorless). As others have opined, safety is relative - my experience has been that damage and injuries have just as much (if not more) to do with the type of crash you're involved in, speeds, trajectory angles, etc. Your concerns could be stated about many a vehicle currently offered out there...

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