Parents want to buy sister an SUV

[Ryland]

There was an artical a while back comparing the number of people killed per 10,000 vehicles of a type on the road and the ford explorer killed around 110 people per 10,000 on the road and the Honda Civic killed around 15.
You can't see as well out of an SUV so you are more likely to run in to things and people, 4 wheel drive tends to get you in more trouble as it makes you feel invincible while driving up to that point that you roll over in to the ditch and die, if the roads are bad enough to need 4 wheel drive then you should stay home! 4 wheel drive is a crutch for bad drivers.

[luvit]

here is a valuable piece of info to use throughout your personal life and professional life.

talk is cheap, polls can be misleading, they will only listen if they want to.
say nothing, ignore it, when you move out, SHOW them how your way is better.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by Ryland

There was an artical a while back comparing the number of people killed per 10,000 vehicles of a type on the road and the ford explorer killed around 110 people per 10,000 on the road and the Honda Civic killed around 15.
You can't see as well out of an SUV so you are more likely to run in to things and people, 4 wheel drive tends to get you in more trouble as it makes you feel invincible while driving up to that point that you roll over in to the ditch and die, if the roads are bad enough to need 4 wheel drive then you should stay home! 4 wheel drive is a crutch for bad drivers.

Oh I don't know about that...

[jamesqf]

Consider this: Your sister is a bad driver. Driving the SUV will make her feel safe (despite the fact that this safety is an illusion - see above), therefore she's likely to drive carelessly. Driving a smaller car will make her feel unsafe, so she'll probably drive more cautiously.

I can't help but be reminded of my neighbors' granddaughter. Her dad (parents were divorced) bought her a small car (Dodge Neon, IIRC) when she got her license. Mom & g'parents would nag about how she wasn't safe in that little thing, so a couple of years later, they bought her a biggish SUV as a graduation present. Couple of months later, she rolled it, killing herself and her boyfriend.

[jkp1187]

Out of morbid curiosity once, I set up a google news search to look for documents with the terms "SUV" "Rollover" and "Accident" in them.

It's rare for it to go more than a few days without it finding a story that has the word "fatal" in it.

[KITT222]

Meet at the crossroads: the CUV, the SUV body on a car frame. Bit better MPG, larger vehicle, yet low-ish COG, so less likely for rollover. If they can, try to get a newer CUV, or brand-new Equinox, with 32 MPG HWY. Maybe try to convince them to get a large car, like something similar to a Ford Freestyle, or Ford Five-Hundred. Not horrid fuel economy, but better than SUV fuel economy. Or if they're bent on getting that SUV, convince them to get her an Escape hyrbid.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by KITT222

Meet at the crossroads: the CUV, the SUV body on a car frame. Bit better MPG, larger vehicle, yet low-ish COG, so less likely for rollover. If they can, try to get a newer CUV, or brand-new Equinox, with 32 MPG HWY. Maybe try to convince them to get a large car, like something similar to a Ford Freestyle, or Ford Five-Hundred. Not horrid fuel economy, but better than SUV fuel economy. Or if they're bent on getting that SUV, convince them to get her an Escape hyrbid.

I think the fuel economy from an Escape Hybrid is great, but most of the reviews I've read always indicate that it still has the handling disadvantages of a usual SUV: poor braking performance and handing -- exacerbated by the extra weight of the batteries. (I suspect handling/braking will be worse in the hybrid than the regular internal combustion engine Escape because of that extra weight, so if safety is the ultimate goal, might as well just forego the hybrid.)

I kind of think the Escape Hybrid is for people who think SUVs are generally good personal vehicles, or who actually need a large vehicle to haul things/people, but hate the horrible fuel economy.

(DISCLAIMER: I have not personally driven a Ford Escape Hybrid yet; I have driven a regular Escape, though, and wasn't too impressed with its handling characteristics.)

Agree that a true car-style crossover like the Nissan Rogue would be better all around. Car-like handling and even car-like fuel economy (24 MPG combined.)

[Ryland]

Wait! your parents are buying this vehicle for her? who does that? selling your kid your old vehicle when you buy a new one is one thing, or even giving them your old vehicle but buying another vehicle for your kid who is just learning how to drive? I bet this vehicle, no matter what it is, is totaled within a year.
SUV's only feels safer, it ends there.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Ryland

Wait! your parents are buying this vehicle for her? who does that?

You'd be surprised. It's a different world out there, where a lot of parents these days (though not nearly as many as there were a couple of years ago) will buy their teenage kids cars that're more expensive than what I'd think of buying for myself - and I'm not poor.

[Ryland]

I'm only 28 and non of my friends had their parents buy them a car, mine would let me barrow their vehicles if I asked first and filled it up with gas when I was done, of course when I got my license my parents wouldn't even co-sign my insurance as it would make their insurance go up! as I see it it was all part of good parenting.

Originally Posted by jamesqf

You'd be surprised. It's a different world out there, where a lot of parents these days (though not nearly as many as there were a couple of years ago) will buy their teenage kids cars that're more expensive than what I'd think of buying for myself - and I'm not poor.