Euro NCAP rates Jeep Compass two stars

The Jeep Compass, recently reintroduced to Australia in facelifted form, has scored poorly in the latest round of Euro NCAP crash safety testing.

Apparently unimpressed by a range of issues with the Jeep, Euro NCAP awarded the SUV just two stars for overall crash safety. Among a field of European and Asian compact SUVs tested by NCAP since 2009 — and under new guidelines — the Jeep scored lowest for adult protection by a significant margin, with a score of 61 per cent. The Dacia Duster, which is not sold in Australia, achieved 74 per cent in this test — the second lowest score.

In child safety the Jeep performed better, achieving 76 per cent, to beat the Range Rover Evoque (75%) and tie with the Mercedes GLK (also 76%). The Jeep's score of 23 per cent for pedestrian safety was five per cent lower than the Duster's, in the same category — with no other vehicle coping worse in this test. For Safety Assist, the Jeep achieved 43 per cent, beating the Duster in this test (29%), but nothing else.

Lenore Fletcher, Chrysler Australia's Director of Corporate Affairs, spoke with motoring.com.au this morning about the Jeep's rating.

"First and foremost, we truly believe that... the vehicle here would be an equivalent four-star [rating] in Australia," Fletcher said, referring to "modelling" that Chrysler Australia holds for the Compass.

Asked how Chrysler would respond to the low NCAP rating and whether the company would request Euro NCAP reassess the vehicle — perhaps with all the necessary data required — Fletcher advised that it was not her place to speak on behalf of Chrysler's head office in Auburn Hills. However, it was her opinion that "there is some room for discussion there."

Since Chrysler Australia is so certain the Compass can achieve a better result in ANCAP testing than Euro NCAP, would the importer arrange with the local testing authority to test the Compass in Australia?

"It's something that we're actually looking at, at the moment," says Fletcher. "We do believe that that vehicle — particularly the way that it's specified here in Australia — the integrity of the passenger cell itself should be rated more highly than that."

But an ANCAP test of the Compass could be some way off in the future, according to Fletcher.

"It's not a quick process to implement and it's not an inexpensive process to implement."

While the crash test result has come out of the blue, and Chrysler has been caught on the hop, Fletcher says that the company is not resigned to the Compass languishing behind in the SUV safety stakes.

"We won't be leaving it at that; we will be looking further into it."

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