Some fifteen years after Swedish car magazine Teknikens Värld forced Mercedes-Benz to hastily upgrade its newly introduced at the time A-Class, when in 1997, its journalists flipped over the tall hatchback during the now-infamous “moose” or “elk” test, the same publication is claiming that the latest generation of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is prone to rolling over.

As it does with most new cars launched in Sweden, Teknikens Värld subjected the latest Grand Cherokee (launched in the country last year) to the moose test, which is a high-speed steering maneuver designed to simulate the driver’s efforts to evade an obstacle that suddenly appears on the road – such as a moose, hence the name of the test.

The magazine found that in its base configuration for the Swedish market, and despite being fitted with an anti-rollover system, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee “shows potentially fatal rollover tendencies at low speed in our avoidance maneuver test”.

“Such behavior is totally unacceptable in 2012,” said Teknikens Värld’s Linus Pröjtz.

A video of the test released by the Swedes shows the base Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, which is equipped as standard with 20-inch wheels shod in 265/50 tires, ESP and a rollover protection system, performing the lane change maneuver at a speed of 63.5km/h (39.5mph) with the SUV getting up on its two wheels and almost tipping over.

“If it wasn’t for our professional test driver’s quick reaction the Jeep Grand Cherokee would have rolled over,” said Daniel Frodin, Editor in Chief at Teknikens Värld. “The handling of the car is lethal for the average motorist,” he added.

The magazine says that in comparison, the Volkswagen Touareg, Volvo XC90 and BMW X5 have performed the same test at a slightly higher speed of 43.5 mph (70 km/h) “without any tendency to roll over.”

“It is obvious that Jeep has been careless in the construction of the current model,” says Teknikens Värld, with the publication noting that “Despite nearly two weeks of communication Jeep has not provided any information or explanation for the lethal behavior of the Grand Cherokee.”

You can watch the Jeep Grand Cherokee performing the ‘moose test’ in the video that follows below.

Update – The Chrysler Group has released this statement on the matter:

Grand Cherokee “Moose Test” Invalid; Vehicle Overloaded

Chrysler Group engineers are investigating a Swedish magazine’s evaluation of the 2012 Grand Cherokee. During the evaluation, the publication was able to capture images of a Grand Cherokee on two wheels as it performed an extreme maneuver in an overloaded condition.

Advised of this event by the magazine, Chrysler Group engineers made numerous attempts to reproduce the wheel-lift in a properly loaded vehicle. Extensive testing produced no such result.

A subsequent evaluation was conducted by the magazine July 8 in Sweden and witnessed by Chrysler Group engineers. Three vehicles performed 11 runs on a course prepared by the magazine. None reproduced the original event.

The uncharacteristic result was obtained using a vehicle loaded beyond its weight specifications. The Grand Cherokee’s weight limitations are clearly stated on the vehicle and in the owner’s manual.

Also, the extreme maneuver performed by the magazine is not certified by any regulatory agency, nor is it used to establish any sanctioned safety ratings.

Chrysler Group takes seriously any safety concerns and engineers are examining the event to better understand the magazine’s claims.

A “Top Safety Pick” of the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 2012 Grand Cherokee is an award-winning SUV that features Electronic Stability Control and Electronic Roll Mitigation as standard equipment. It meets or exceeds all government safety mandates and its outstanding performance has made it the most awarded SUV in history.

Thanks to Andreas and Rabe for bringing the story to our attention

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