2017 Jeep Compass Scores Top Safety Pick Rating From IIHS

The 2017 Jeep Compass with its optional front crash prevention has earned a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The crossover missed out on the more prestigious IIHS+ status because even the optional headlights earned a Marginal score, and the base lights received a Poor rating.

The 2017 Compass received the necessary Good ratings in all of the agency's crash tests. In the challenging small-overlap front evaluation, the IIHS found "a low risk of any significant injuries." The front and side airbags did a good job of controlling the movement of the dummy's head in the collision. The maximum intrusion into the cabin was 3.15 inches (8 centimeters) at the lower door hinge pillar.

With the optional Advanced Safety and Lighting Group package, the Compass comes with a front collision prevention system that earns a Superior rating. It was able to avoid crashes from 12 and 25 miles per hour (19 and 40 kilometers per hour).

The Compass' standard halogen lights received a poor rating because IIHS' tests deemed both the low and high beams as "inadequate" in the four cornering evaluations. The optional Advanced Safety and Lighting Group package adds HID projectors with automatic high beams. For these, the low beams scored "inadequate" on the right side in a straight line and for left side in a gradual curve. Finally, the HID high beams didn't perform well in a straight line and in sharp curves to the left and right.

While not part of the Top Safety Pick criteria, IIHS also rated the Compass' child seat anchors' ease of use as Poor. The agency said that the devices were too deep in the seat to find easily and required too much force to attach the buckles.