On July 9th, Autoguide reported that Teknikens Värld, a leading Swedish automotive publication, conducted its signature älgtestet, or "moose test", maneuver on a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. In this test, sport utility vehicles are prepped to its maximum load capacity with 4 passengers and cargo in the form of sandbags and must then complete a short course that features an abrupt lane change to mimic emergency situations. According to Teknikens Värld, the test has been a tried and true measure of rollover safety for nearly 40 years.
When Teknikens Värld took the Jeep into the älgtestet at 39.5 mph, the rapid shift in inertia caused the vehicle to lift its wheels into the air, requiring some quick reaction from the skilled professional test driver to right the Jeep back onto the ground. In comparison, vehicles like the BMW X5, VW Touareg and Volvo XC90 have all passed the moose test without concern at 43.5 mph. Teknikens Värld's concern is certainly worth addressing: if a wheel lift incident occured under the hands of an inexperienced driver, then the consequences can be very grave.
Back in 2005, Teknikens Värld conducted the same test on the previous generation Grand Cherokee and passed without an issue. Now, with modern stability, traction, and vehicle dynamic controls, the new Grand Cherokee should be much safer than that.
No doubt, Chrysler/Jeep is taking Teknikens Värld's findings very seriously. Shortly after the Swedish publication shared its findings, Jeep released a statement that claimed Teknikens Värld performed its test with a vehicle loaded beyond its cargo capacity by at least 100 pounds. Naturally, calibrating a vehicle beyond its design limits forces an increase in danger.
To set things right, Jeep sent over a team of engineers to investigate what occurred at the test. When the engineers outfitted three different Grand Cherokee SUVS at the proper payload capacity, the magazine conducted the moose test 11 more times. Not once did wheel lift occur.
What's more, Jeep reemphasized that the 2012 Grand Cherokee is an IIHS "Top Safety Pick" and has been rated an adequate 4-stars for rollover safety by the NHTSA. Finally, and this is where Jeep starts to look a bit petty, the statement claimed that Teknikens Värld's moose test is by no means a certified test by a regulatory agency and should not be taken as seriously.
Yesterday, rather than letting it go or just settling the matter after the official statement, Chrysler communications vice president Gualberto Ranieri added a post on Chrysler's official blog that pretty much called Teknikens Värld a bunch of cheaters. Titled "The Sting of Truth, Ranieri wrote, "Expect the magazine to maintain its innocence, even though its editors have been caught red-handed. Because the truth doesn't just hurt. It stings." The full post by Gualberto Ranieri can be found here.
In the grand scheme of things, Teknikens Värld is a niche publication that hadn't received a lot of international attention until now (I've been using Google translate Swedish like I've never used Google translate Swedish before, oh wait...). If it weren't for the hostile exchange and Chrysler's strong reactions, the news might've even blown over.
But now, Teknikens Värld isn't letting this go either. Following Ranieri's grating post, Teknikens Värld indicated that the Grand Cherokee's tires were pried from the rims in seven occasions during engineer supervised testing. Meanwhile, AutoGuide, which closely followed the developments, called a Chrysler representative and was told that the company is still investigating what happened during the secondary tests.
In the latest, Teknikens Värld delivered another post today to reiterate its position on the Grand Cherokee's safety. According to Matthias Rabe of Teknikens Värld, initial testing had the Grand Cherokee Overland loaded up to 602 kg, the figure which stood as the maximum acceptable load for the model. However, Teknikens Värld already noticed severe instability even at low speeds, and even unloaded the vehicle by 100 kg to 502 kg before it first conducted the "moose test." It failed, as we all know.
Teknikens Värld had already suspected the Grand Cherokee's improper weight capacity was to blame. Getting to the bottom of it, the Swedish registration certificate indicates that the new Jeep Grand Cherokee weighs 2,347 kg. However, the provided press Grand Cherokee actually weighed 2,505 kg, or 158 kg more than what Chrysler indicated. Combined with the extra test ballast, the tested Grand Cherokee weighed 3,107 kg when the suggested limit is 2,949 kg.
Matthias Rabe also noted that Teknikens Värld had tried to reach Chrysler/Jeep before the story published. However, the publication did not receive any response from the automaker.
Stay tuned as the story unfolds.
