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Safety first, right? Well, Jeep SUVs have never had the best reputation for safety, but that hasn’t stopped millions of buyers for decades. However, the Jeep Renegade and Jeep Grand Cherokee are two of the deadliest SUVs you can buy. 

The Jeep Renegade and Jeep Grand Cherokee are dangerous SUVs 

You may want to think twice before buying a Jeep Renegade or Jeep Grand Cherokee if safety is an important feature on your checklist. 

According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), the Renegade and Grand Cherokee have some of the highest rates of death per registered vehicle. Both models landed on the list of the top five most dangerous SUVs. 

  • The fifth option on the list is the Chevy Trax, with 89 deaths per million registered vehicles. 
  • Then the Jeep Renegade is in fourth place with 90 deaths per million registered vehicles. 
  • The old Dodge Journey which was discontinued in 2020 is in third place with 91 deaths per million registered vehicles. 
  • Next up, the Chevy Blazer is in second place with 93 deaths per million registered vehicles. 
  • Then the Jeep Grand Cherokee is in first place with 103 deaths per million registered vehicles. 

The IIHS has been calculating the most driver death rates per million registered vehicles every three years since 1989. 

The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee off-roading
2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee | Jeep

The most dangerous vehicle is the Mitsubishi Mirage M4 with 203 deaths per million registered vehicles. The safest vehicle is the BMW X3 with a zero death rate. 

On a positive note, vehicles are getting safer. Vehicle deaths per million registered vehicles fell from 278 in 1978 to 28 in 2021. 

Based on IIHS safety crash ratings, the 2021 Jeep Renegade is a little concerning. While it received plenty of ‘Good’ ratings, which is the highest score possible, it also has a ton of Acceptable, Poor, and Marginal scores. 

The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee is even more concerned with more Poor and Marginal ratings. But both Jeep SUVs received a Superior score for the automated crash prevention systems. 

Also, the Jeep Renegade has been discontinued in America, so I don’t expect its scores to improve much. The Jeep Grand Cherokee was redesigned for 2022 and could have a lower death rate now.