In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Venza are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Venza has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Venza XLE/Limited has standard Rear Automated Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Venza. But it costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.
The Venza’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.
The Venza Limited has a standard Bird’s Eye View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Grand Cherokee only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Venza’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Venza and the Grand Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Venza is safer than the Jeep Grand Cherokee:
|
|
Venza |
Grand Cherokee |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
284 |
298 |
| Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
| Neck Compression |
95 lbs. |
122 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Toyota Venza is safer than the Grand Cherokee:
|
|
Venza |
Grand Cherokee |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
| Steering Column Movement Rearward |
1 cm |
5 cm |
| Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Femur Force R/L |
.8/.8 kN |
4.9/2.3 kN |
| Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
3%/0% |
| Lower Leg Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
| Tibia index R/L |
.63/.36 |
1.06/.54 |
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Venza is 1.4% to 4.9% less likely to roll over than the Grand Cherokee.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Venza the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 137 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee is not a “Top Pick.”