Camry or Rav4 for 18 year old

[Anonymous]

Son needs a car to drive to college. Which is safer? Opinions?

[Anonymous]

The one he wants. Ask him.

[Anonymous]

Which does he prefer? Are you loyal to Toyota?

[Anonymous]

Funny I've just spent hours researching some used RAV4s for my kids, so I'll weigh in. (I'm in Los Angeles and the only criterion for my younger DD is that the car must be able to carry a surfboard inside the car, so the Camry is out for us.)

I'm staring at this month's consumer reports magazine which has ratings for used cars. (these are all 2016) The RAV4 comes in good at overall score of 73. The category is Compact SUVs.

The Toyota Camry comes in GREAT at an 83 for the Hybrid and 82 for the regular. But fyi, it's in a different class, it's in Midsize Cars.

So I'd go to consumerreports.org and sign up and take a look at the rankings, and the safety features. My older DD almost had me talked into a Jeep Wrangler until I looked at how poorly it handled and the reliability rating and how it wasn't great on side crashes, which was the very type of accident that my DD was in which necessitated me looking for cars in the first place.

Or, you can just decide, what kind of car do you want him to have, a midsize car or a compact SUV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny I've just spent hours researching some used RAV4s for my kids, so I'll weigh in. (I'm in Los Angeles and the only criterion for my younger DD is that the car must be able to carry a surfboard inside the car, so the Camry is out for us.)

I'm staring at this month's consumer reports magazine which has ratings for used cars. (these are all 2016) The RAV4 comes in good at overall score of 73. The category is Compact SUVs.

The Toyota Camry comes in GREAT at an 83 for the Hybrid and 82 for the regular. But fyi, it's in a different class, it's in Midsize Cars.

So I'd go to consumerreports.org and sign up and take a look at the rankings, and the safety features. My older DD almost had me talked into a Jeep Wrangler until I looked at how poorly it handled and the reliability rating and how it wasn't great on side crashes, which was the very type of accident that my DD was in which necessitated me looking for cars in the first place.

Or, you can just decide, what kind of car do you want him to have, a midsize car or a compact SUV?

The Wranglers safety testing isn't exactly accurate as a lot of it is on electronics vs. actual crashes if you do the research. I would't get a kid one but we have one and love it. If you look at actual crashes, they do pretty well, especially if you get the steel bumpers. The RAV4 is pretty small. I would not go with a compact anything for a teen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny I've just spent hours researching some used RAV4s for my kids, so I'll weigh in. (I'm in Los Angeles and the only criterion for my younger DD is that the car must be able to carry a surfboard inside the car, so the Camry is out for us.)

I'm staring at this month's consumer reports magazine which has ratings for used cars. (these are all 2016) The RAV4 comes in good at overall score of 73. The category is Compact SUVs.

The Toyota Camry comes in GREAT at an 83 for the Hybrid and 82 for the regular. But fyi, it's in a different class, it's in Midsize Cars.

So I'd go to consumerreports.org and sign up and take a look at the rankings, and the safety features. My older DD almost had me talked into a Jeep Wrangler until I looked at how poorly it handled and the reliability rating and how it wasn't great on side crashes, which was the very type of accident that my DD was in which necessitated me looking for cars in the first place.

Or, you can just decide, what kind of car do you want him to have, a midsize car or a compact SUV?

The Wranglers safety testing isn't exactly accurate as a lot of it is on electronics vs. actual crashes if you do the research. I would't get a kid one but we have one and love it. If you look at actual crashes, they do pretty well, especially if you get the steel bumpers. The RAV4 is pretty small. I would not go with a compact anything for a teen.

Omg no wranglers are just dangerous. Not just b/c it’s missing automatic breaking (which i am skeptical of as it may foster carelessness).

https://www.thedrive.com/news/28300/america-still-hasnt-crash-tested-the-jeep-wrangler-after-one-star-safety-ratings-abroad

[Anonymous]

Camry is safe no question.

[Anonymous]

Is he average height and not short? We have both. I only drive the RAV4 because I do not see well out of the Camry. I’m too short no matter how I adjust the seat to see clearly from all angles and I have a much better view all around in the higher car.

[Anonymous]

If you hit a person with your vehicle while driving, you're 2-3 times more likely to kill them if you're driving an SUV (even a "small" SUV like the RAV4) than if you're driving a sedan (like the Camry).

[Anonymous]

I would get a car not an suv for an 18yo. They handle very differently. PLus you want the veh he is least likely to show off in.

[Anonymous]

We chose the RAV4 for our DD. She went to school out of state and wanted something with AWD. She’s petite and the RAV4 was small enough for her to be able to fit comfortably and see well. It also came in handy for moving back and forth to school since she could carry larger stuff in the back area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you hit a person with your vehicle while driving, you're 2-3 times more likely to kill them if you're driving an SUV (even a "small" SUV like the RAV4) than if you're driving a sedan (like the Camry).

My understanding is that this is true of SUVs built on on truck platforms but less so for those like the RAV4 that are built on unibody car platforms; in fact, the RAV4 is now built on the same platform as the Camry (although previously it was smaller and shared a platform with the Corolla): https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-rav4-2019-suv-review-photos-2019-4

Here’s one study showing that the risk of death to passengers in other cars is lower when hit by a unibody-construction car than a body-on-frame SUV: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24821629

[Anonymous]

Well my first car was a very well used 10 year old Camry, so I'm going to vote for that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The one he wants. Ask him.

At the end of the day I want the safest choice. It's going to be a car I own that he uses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which does he prefer? Are you loyal to Toyota?

I love toyota for the safety and quality.