The Jeep Grand Cherokee L has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Yukon doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Grand Cherokee L has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Yukon doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Grand Cherokee L uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Yukon uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.
Both the Grand Cherokee L and the Yukon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, night vision systems, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the GMC Yukon:
|
Grand Cherokee L |
Yukon |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
129 |
146 |
Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
23% |
Neck Stress |
152 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
137 |
233 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
28% |
47% |
Neck Stress |
125 lbs. |
272 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
41 lbs. |
66 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
400/347 lbs. |
333/811 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the GMC Yukon:
|
Grand Cherokee L |
Yukon |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
38 G’s |
Hip Force |
432 lbs. |
764 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Grand Cherokee L is 2.7% to 3.4% less likely to roll over than the Yukon.