2019 Jeep Cherokee Gets Top Safety Pick Recognition

While several automakers are getting their respective 2020 models tested for crashworthiness and earning Top Safety Pick recognition in the process, Jeep shows it’s in no rush to keep within the pace of its competitors as long as its vehicles remain performance-ready.

And this is exactly what the company managed to prove with its 2019 Jeep Cherokee recently clinching a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The small SUV is the latest addition to the list of vehicles with the same recognition from the agency. The latest Cherokee model underwent a series of crash tests as well as a passenger-side small overlap front test where it earned a Good score. The model also scored a Superior rating for frontal-crash prevention with its standard and optional features after avoiding a crash at 12 mph and 25 mph.

Unfortunately, the model fell short of bagging the Top Safety Pick+ award because of its headlights.

Based on the IIHS’ testing, the 2019 Jeep Cherokee’s premium trims have only Acceptable headlights. While the score is enough to score a Top Safety Pick recognition, it is short of the highest Top Safety Pick+ distinction.

Of the headlights available for the Cherokee, the best-rated by the IIHS are the LED projectors that also have the high-beam assist feature. For models equipped with LED projectors but without high beams, IIHS only gave a Marginal rating.

For the Cherokee’s current edition, units from the Limited, Trailhawk, and Overland trim levels built after April 2019 all qualify for the Top Safety Pick designation as these are also the vehicles equipped with Jeep’s Technology Group package.

A Jeep Cherokee Limited has a starting price of $32,945 inclusive of the Technology package and destination charge, while the standard Cherokee is sold at $26,540.