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

[ScottBeach]

JT also changed my driving habits. I had a genesis 5.0 prior. Left lane. 95-100 cruising. Aggressive florida driver. Now JT. Right/center lane. 73 mph adaptive cruise on. Window open and happy. Round town. Slow. Roof off. In zero rush the attitude the JT brings is just too mellow to be an aggressive driver.

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[Mojave2021]

I do feel like the JT is less top heavy / rollover prone than all of the SUVs we’ve owned prior (Xterra, MDX, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee).

I don't think I’ve had to modify my around town driving a lot but freeway I’m primarily right and center lane. Rarely get over 75 at all.

For a comparison I have a 77 Trans Am which I replaced all of the seat belts on and added 3 point rear belts for the kids. Although it’s got an LS3 and can keep up with modern cars, I rarely take it on a freeway and it’s never the car of choice for any trip longer than about a half hour. Even on backroads I try to keep my distance from other cars.

I do think the Gladiators get a bad reputation from the 2 door Wranglers. In high school I had a few friends get killed in them but their parents deserve some blame for giving a Wrangler to their 16 year olds.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

Man. When I was a kid we rode in the back of dad's c10 with a topper on it from ky to like South Carolina or some place. Just a mattress in the back.
Honestly, they will be fine.

 

[christmas]

I mean.. it comes with a roll bar.. mojave's got reinforced frame & steel steering knuckles too so less chance of death wobble.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

How is the steering knuckle being steel going to impact "death wobble" - I mean, Ford has had trouble with that and their steering knuckles are cast steel

 

[maligator]

I’m gonna suggest you’ve got a conflict of internal values. I did too when buying mine. 2 star ANCAP safety rating

The only other car that makes me smile is a Mustang, but also 2 star!

In one corner we want to be ‘happy dad’ in the other we want to be ‘safe dad’

The best reconciliation I found is to accept that I’m a balance of both. Thankfully too, because fully unhappy or fully unsafe dudes are shit people to be around.

I bought a Gladiator, smoke cigars and eat bacon. I’m happy.

I drive defensively, take first aid courses annually, eat fibre and replace our smoke alarm batteries. I’m safe.

Anyway, that’s my yin yang. Hope it helps.

Really, I guess you may be talking about older mustangs. When I got my GT it was wayyyy cheaper to insure than my F150 was and I was really confused and asked my insurance company basically they said the safety and the F150 aluminum is problably a factor too for cost to fix.

S550 Mustang

 

[Uparms]

Body on Frame. Enough said.

 

[Digster]

I truck with a built in roll cage seems pretty safe to me - just saying.

 

[Fizzy Logic]

Really, I guess you may be talking about older mustangs. When I got my GT it was wayyyy cheaper to insure than my F150 was and I was really confused and asked my insurance company basically they said the safety and the F150 aluminum is problably a factor too for cost to fix.

S550 Mustang

I wish mate but nope, current gen. It was 2 Star but got upgraded to 3 Star with the addition of Auto Emergency Braking.

https://www.ancap.com.au/safety-ratings/ford/mustang/be8eed

Safety standards in Australia tend to follow Euro NCAP so big on pedestrian safety and advanced driver tech.

Oddly, safety ratings have little to no impact on insurance rates here. More important is car cost, likelihood of theft, drivers record and engine displacement.

 

[bring44]

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?

TL;DR should go before your monologue...not after.

 

[Oil_Burner]

There have been a few forum members who have posted pictures of their JTR after being in an accident. I recall one that was t-boned, another who was hit in the rear quarter, and another that was hit in the front. I was rather surprised at the damage to the other vehicle, and how little intrusion into the JTR that occurred. As a fire fighter who has been to many vehicle accidents, the JTR seems to hold up very well for it's occupants.

 

[jpjpjp]

I went from an Overland to Rubicon and my insurance went down $16/month! The Rubicon has active cruise control and blind spot monitoring - I’m pretty sure those features are responsible.

I was curious how my insurance would change with a 3rd driver and 3rd car. I was surprised that WRX was so much given it cost $28K spec'd for the insurance quote whereas the Wrangler 4xe Rubicon was ~$54K and the Gladiator $47K. I get the risk doesn't equate to car price, but still.

new WRX: $3257/yr
new Gladiator: $3315
new Wrangler: $3087

To the OP, would you let your kids ride their bikes in the street where you live? I can pretty much guarantee you that is significantly riskier than buying a modern car and driving around with them in it.

The only concern I'd have with a wrangler or gladiator is roll-over risk. My in-laws got rear-ended at highway speeds in an eclipse that spun out multiple times. The massive bruises from the seatbelts were unreal, but they walked away otherwise without injury. If they were driving their jeep (and certainly a wrangler or gladiator), they would have flipped and I believe the responding cop said as much at the accident scene. There are other accidents involving wranglers, gladiators, or some other trucks, in which sedans might have fared worse.

I think the biggest risk to your kids is dropping $50K+ on a vehicle. Jeez these things are expensive and college tuition sneaks up fast. If you can afford it, I wouldn't sweat the other stuff as much given the tight NHTSA safety standards. Today's vehicles are significantly safer than vehicles of old and definitely safer than bikes. If you're going to drop that much cash, though, just make sure you will enjoy it for it to be worth it. If you're not off-roading or driving with at least the top off if not also the doors, I am not sure why one would get a Wrangler/Gladiator.

 

[dcmdon]

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 agree with your sentiment. And wish people would wear seatbelts.

But my current car has side curtain airbags. If I am hit in a side impact, the airbags will keep my HEAD from hitting the side glass, roof, or door frames.

This is real safety that exceeds what you get from seatbelts only.

Wranglers and Gladiators don't have these.

I'm not saying that a Jeep isn't safe.

I"m saying that there ARE safer vehicles out there. Don't delude yourself into thinking that the reality is any different.

But we make our choices in life and live with them. Frankly, HOW you drive has a greater impact on overall safety than WHAT you drive.

I say this as someone who currently drives a Volvo with 8 airbags and received the highest rating the IIHS could give for a vehicle. The seatbelts have explosive charges that deploy when the car is hit removing any slack from the belts. The front seat headrests actually move forward in a rear end collision to reduce the chance of whiplash.

I've seen wrecks of this car that have rolled multiple times and all 4 doors still open. Its a tank.

And I'm probably going to buy a Gladiator. With full knowledge and acceptance that the Gladiator will be inferior to my current car when it comes to safety. Oh well. Priorities change.

 

[jpjpjp]

You have to make your own decisions. My wife was a ER and critical care nurse for 25 years, I have 35 years experience as a firefighter paramedic. I drive a 20 JT, and she Drives a 06 TJ. She had a bad rollover crash in her 05 TJ. She gives the 05 credit for her surviving. The reason she is still in a TJ is the 4 liter 6 speed she loves the way it drives.

I reference the bike risk as I worked briefly in a city emergency dept. The docs referenced bike helmets as brain and blood buckets as they saw a bunch of nasty accidents and deaths from cars hitting bikes (maybe they meant motorcycles, too). Those docs swore off riding bikes in the street. Between their comments and a couple of bike incidents of my own (including getting t-boned and rolling over the car hood) I try to avoid streets. They never mentioned Jeeps though

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Body on Frame. Enough said.

I wish that was all there was to it.......... Modern unibody construction is fantastic. In fact some of the safest vehicles on the road as far as protecting occupants are unibody.
I worked in a shop that did towing for the IHP and local police - frame is no guarantee, too many "it depends".........

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