The Jeep Wagoneer L has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Expedition Max doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Wagoneer L has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Expedition Max doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Jeep Wagoneer L achieved an “Acceptable” rating for its forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, outperforming the Ford Expedition Max which scored only a “Marginal” in these critical safety features.
A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Wagoneer L Grand helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Expedition Max doesn’t offer a night vision system.
Both the Wagoneer L and the Expedition Max have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Jeep Wagoneer L is safer than the Expedition Max:
|
Wagoneer L |
Expedition Max |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head injury index |
123 |
245 |
Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
Steering Column Movement Rearward |
2 cm |
19 cm |
Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Femur Force R/L |
1.7/1.6 kN |
4.5/4.8 kN |
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
2%/3% |
Lower Leg Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Tibia index R/L |
.66/.59 |
.9/1.33 |
The Jeep Wagoneer L achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Expedition Max is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.