This week, the 2022 Jeep Compass snagged the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award. Many sport utility vehicles have been tripped up on some of the updated crashworthiness tests, but the Jeep SUV proved to be a safe choice for buyers.

The 2022 Jeep Compass is an IIHS Top Safety Pick

The new IIHS safety tests have tripped up many SUVs. In the long run, these tests will make vehicles safer for passengers and drivers. In the short term, it has caused some cars to lose out on the coveted Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick Plus awards.

However, the IIHS reported that the 2022 Jeep Compass performed well on the required tests this week. There are six crashworthiness tests in which the Compass received a rating of “good” to qualify. The scoring goes from good, acceptable, marginal, to poor. The Jeep Compass SUV earned good ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness tests.

The first tests are the small overlap front: driver-side, small overlap front: passenger-side. This was followed by the moderate overlap front, side: original test, roof strength, and head restraints/seat tests.

The 2022 Jeep Compass has a lot of standard safety systems

The headlights are the only difference between the IIHS Top Safety Pick and TSP+ awards. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awards the TSP distinction to a vehicle with acceptable or good headlights available as an option. The TSP+ award requires these acceptable or good headlights to come standard, which is why the 2022 Jeep Compass missed the TSP+ award.

Vehicles must get an advanced or superior rating for available front crash prevention. That applies to both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. The Compass received a superior rating in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation. It received an advanced rating in the vehicle-to-pedestrian test.

Some of the standard safety features included on the 2022 Jeep Compass include forward collision warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and lane departure warning (LDW). Japp also equipped the SUV with blind-spot warning (BSW) and rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA).

Some SUVs have done well in the updated side test

The 2022 Jeep Wrangler didn’t perform as well on the new tests. The “front small-overlap” part of the examination tests the vehicle’s ability to stay on the ground during a front impact. In 2019, the 2020 Wrangler also had a hard time with this test. During the recent test, the 2022 Wrangler again flipped over during this part. Whatever modifications Jeep made behind the scenes did not fix the problem.

Since the 2022 Jeep Compass figured it out, hopefully, the Wrangler is next. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is still performing tests on various cars, trucks, and SUVs this week. While some midsize SUVs have missed high marks on the new tests, many cars have performed well. Keep an eye out on the IIHS social media pages for more updates.