Is a jeep good for a first car?
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Anonymous
| For this area? |
Anonymous
|
Jeep wranglers/CJ/Gladiators? No
They are gas hogs, can be expensive to maintain, and are used for off-roading, expensive to insure. That said, my husband loves his and belongs to a jeep club. We would not buy one for our 19 or 17 year olds. |
Anonymous
|
What kind of Jeep?
We have a Wrangler Rubicon and I love it. I don't think its any more or less safe than any other care or SUV but I wouldn't get a Rubicon or Sahara for a new driver as they are high up and you can more easily flip it. Plus they aren't very bit. If you aren't DIYing your own mod's I think a sport is a waste of money as they are expensive for the base model compared to other vehicles. Realistically most people aren't going to take off the hard top or off road, which is the appeal to them. I would buy one for 24+ but agree with PP about not buying for the new driver crowd but partly price and features. To get all the safety features, you generally have to special order (which we did) and it really adds up. I'd get a bigger car or SUV first. Ours was cheaper to insure than my previous SUV which was much older so it depends on the insurance. We expected it to go up but it went down slightly. |
Anonymous
| For a new driver? No. Especially Wrangler. High center of gravity, mediocre crashworthiness, questionable reliability, expensive, and highly specialized for off road type driving at the expense of performance and safety in normal conditions. |
Anonymous
| Dangerous for new drivers |
Anonymous
|
No.
The higher they are, the easier they are to tip over if an unexperienced driver over steers. They are just popular because they look "cool" right now. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn't because of center of gravity and price. Used Toyota Corollas are great first cars. They run forever, are relatively fuel efficient and perform well in safety tests. |
Anonymous
| No. |
Anonymous
| terrible handling, low safety ratings, and worst in class reliability - what's not to love |
Anonymous
The new ones have better ratings and they handle very well. Clearly you've never driven a new one. |
Anonymous
The sport model is pretty low to the ground and no higher than a small SUV. But, they aren't available with all the safety features. They aren't cool right now and always been popular. The new JL's are very nice which is why they are more popular right now. They come in different heights. The sport is very different vs. the Rubicon. |
Anonymous
They are better than the old ones, but they are lifted body on frame short wheelbase SUVs- the handling compared to any sedan is going to be terrible. Most unibody suvs will also have much better handling. If you want to go mudding or rock crawling, wrangles are the best tool, otherwise they are worse than just about every other option |
Anonymous
Again, it depends on if you are getting a Sport, Sahara or Rubicon. A sport is low to the ground and no different than a regular suv but for the price point for a sport there are so many better options out there. We have a Rubicon and love it. I wouldn't buy one for a first car/teen. The only advantage to a sport is if you modify it yourself. And, removing the roof is difficult except if you get the new sliding roof, which is awesome but adds a lot more money to it. We much prefer the wangler handling to our sedan so its personal preference. And, the handling is far better than my last SUV. |
Anonymous
+100000 I have had several close calls with young inexperienced drivers (often teenaged girls) nearly losing control trying to wrangle their brand new tricked out Wranglers. Especially in poor weather conditions. |
Anonymous
| As a Wrangler lover who flipped her Wrangler as a teenager driving in winter weather, no. I have a Wrangler and a Grand Cherokee now and my kids will be driving a nice sedan. |