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

MPMB

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I want two options (basically either/or) in regards to safety.

1. Able to walk away with minor bruising and/or scratches.
2. Make roll call in the local crematorium.

I had a Scion xB. The crash ratings were such that technically, you'd live. But you wouldn't want to. The test dummy had the following injuries from a side impact: Broken collar bone, broken arm, possible broken ribs, possible punctured lung, head trauma, spinal trauma, broken leg, sprained ankle, broken pelvis.
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Stephen21

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My bride was in insurance before she retired. She always commented that the insurance rates on new wranglers even for high school kids (yes, parents in Illinois buy their high school kids new cars - something it took me 60 years to do for the first time for myself) are very low. Insurance company actuaries don’t charge low premium for cars that wreck often and expensively.

Spot on.

My wife has worked in insurance since 1983 and has the same take on it.

I have just made the switch from a Dodge 3500 to a Gladiator. My insurance went down almost $200 a year. That is approximately a 30% drop.

I am a FREEK about safe vehicles. I just got my Wife driving a Wrangler. I am much more comfortable with her safety versus her Hyundai.

We have a full frame vehicle with a significant roll cage.
 

JT4X4

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As a Marine Veteran and somebody that has lived a life filled with aggressively pursuing opportunities, here is what I think:

If God wants you dead, ain't nothing going to keep you alive. If God wants you to live, ain't nothing going to kill you.

The skein of your life was wound long ago. Worry won't lengthen it one bit.
SEMPER FI
 

Dennis K

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Why do they ever discontinue colors? I think Jeeps should come in dozens of colors and think it's silly to take any out. Just add and give choices.
Shhh. It might take longer to get mine if they do that... :)
 

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flyil

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Spot on.

My wife has worked in insurance since 1983 and has the same take on it.

I have just made the switch from a Dodge 3500 to a Gladiator. My insurance went down almost $200 a year. That is approximately a 30% drop.

I am a FREEK about safe vehicles. I just got my Wife driving a Wrangler. I am much more comfortable with her safety versus her Hyundai.

We have a full frame vehicle with a significant roll cage.
My insurance for my Gladiator, full coverages for liability, collision, comp all maxed out, gap coverage, and low-ish deductibles in IL is $260 for 6 months.

My mother, a retired auto insurance agent, still isn't sure if it's legit it's so low. Progressive.

If this thing, or Jeeps in general were deathtraps this wouldn't insure for half the cost of the 2007 Chrysler I traded out of.
 

Hipbilly

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My opinion on a bottom line here:
Assuming you're strapped in, the only time these vehicles are more dangerous than something else is with the doors off. Even the roof isn't going to make that big of a difference.
I flipped my '06 TJ onto the drivers side and slid about 20ft with the door off, and got a pretty good road rash on my arm.... if my brother hadn't just made a comment 20mins before that about "keeping your arms inside if we flip", my mind may not have focused so clearly on death gripping the steering wheel, and if my arm had flopped out the side it would very easily been plain ole gone.
Jeep Gladiator I want a Gladiator but I’m concerned it’s not safe enough for a family vehicle wreck4

Jeep Gladiator I want a Gladiator but I’m concerned it’s not safe enough for a family vehicle wreck3

Jeep Gladiator I want a Gladiator but I’m concerned it’s not safe enough for a family vehicle wreck1

Jeep Gladiator I want a Gladiator but I’m concerned it’s not safe enough for a family vehicle wreck2
 

LostWoods

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Safe is relative.

Is it safe compared to most modern cars? Hell no. Much less protection and much more susceptible to rollover. Any frontal corner or side impact with a low vehicle is likely to put you on your lid.

Is it safe compared to anything before 2014? Most definitely, because the changes that came that year exponentially increased crash safety.

If you want maximum safe, get a Toyota or Subaru or Volvo. A Jeep is a lifestyle vehicle purchased for what you want to do with it, not the "what if" scenarios. The risks associated with those what ifs are something you have to accept.
 

GobiGlad386

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Wrecks occasionally get posted on this forum and every one I've seen here has showed remarkable resilience of these Jeeps and some totaled Hyundais/Hondas/Toyotas. My neighbor got rear ended by a Ford Fusion in his TJ wrangler while slowing down to pull in his driveway. Fusion was traveling about 60mph and was absolutely totaled. The jeep needed gas tank brackets, a new muffler and rear bumper. No other damage and drove straight. FWIW..
 

Caraholic

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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?
Hey understand this, I sold my CJ and TJ when the kids were little. Now I miss them lol….
however- the side impact and side airbags is something of interest to look at, as in the other comment. Here’s what is of interest to you tho-
professionally I have seen almost all rollover wrecks and side impacts mostly walk away from newer cars that wreck. Unless they smash a tree or wreck at high speeds, those are bad even in a tank…..
fwiw…..
 

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Caraholic

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As far as the Jeep crash ratings go the Wrangler faired very well when IIHS tested it. But strangely Euroncap gave it 1 star.

And sorry, NachoRuby, I didn’t intend to steal a name! Excellent taste in color though! :)
That’s because they’re metrics included invasive safety system systems which weren’t optioned on the models they crash tested….
the rest of the marks outside the deficiency for lack of these systems was a totally different story!
 

HorneyBadger

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I think the ratings are relative. Personal experience. Wife had a 2008 JK Sahara. She was going to work early (4am) one morning and it was very foggy. She stopped at a red light and and an old guy in a Prius rear ended her going 50+MPH. I went to the crash scene and from all outer appearances she had a right rear bumper cap crumple and a RR flat tire. Couldn't tell what the other car was as it had no frontend. Well, they ended up totaling the JK. It was a total mess under the skin. The roll cage kept the car from buckling. If you haven't seen some of the JT accidents then you haven't seen how resilient this truck is or the JL or JK.
 

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My opinion on a bottom line here:
Assuming you're strapped in, the only time these vehicles are more dangerous than something else is with the doors off. Even the roof isn't going to make that big of a difference.
I flipped my '06 TJ onto the drivers side and slid about 20ft with the door off, and got a pretty good road rash on my arm.... if my brother hadn't just made a comment 20mins before that about "keeping your arms inside if we flip", my mind may not have focused so clearly on death gripping the steering wheel, and if my arm had flopped out the side it would very easily been plain ole gone.
You fared better in that OPEN vehicle with NO ROOF and NO DOORS than my sister in law.
She was driving through downtown Des Moines on her way back to work after lunch. She had a green light and started through the intersection - keep in mind - this is in DOWNTOWN Des Moines on a business day. All you should have to watch out for is pedestrian traffic and missing them.
She got into the middle of the intersection and from out of nowhere a guy comes barreling down the cross street in a small pickup and blows his red light and smacks her Blazer dead center.
It flipped her Chevy onto the driver side, her arm went out the window due to the force of the impact and shaved skin and muscle off her arm leaving not much left covering the bone.
It actually knocked her SUV onto the driver side front corner of the roof, then it settled down on the left side and slid a few feet. The A pillar was totally collapsed, the front driver corner of the roof was left about 6" from the dash. Who the heck knows how it didn't smash her head.
She waited in the hall at emergency room from about 1 pm to 9 pm that night waiting to be taken care of. Several surgeries and grafts later, her arm looks almost normal.

Anyway, that was a Chevy SUV - didn't Blazers and the Trail Blazers all have full frames? I know whatever she had was a non-removable roof as she asked me to go to where it had been towed to and recover some of her personal stuff out of it and it was sort of spooky in there with the smashed in roof (I had to pry open the hatch and get in from the rear and crawl forward, I could not go all the way forward because of the smashed roof)
 
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tommyp

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I constantly am amazed that I'm driving inside a full blown roll cage....it feels pretty safe to me.
Lol, trianglation is the key to a strong cage. See alot of that on the gladiator?

if you want to buy a safe car get a tahoe or burb not a crv.

the gladiator is fine for safety. One key is being higher than anything else. You want the cars to go under you rather than into. But if you want safe get a new large suv. Not a compact or a jeep. You will have more weight height and room to crush.

you just have to decide what is safe to you and if you picked a crv the bar isnt all that high.
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