2005 Safest Suvs
2005 Toyota Highlander #K6191A in Shreveport Monroe, LA
2005 Safest Suvs
First Car: 2005 Toyota Prius or 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
I’m a 16 year old, turning 17 in 6 weeks.
Then, I will have my license and am going to get a car. My options:
Dad’s old 2005 Toyota Prius
-42 mpg
-squish-able
Traded in for 2004 Jeep GC
-17 mpg 
-SUV’s are safer in crashes (by no means am I reckless, but I can’t sit here and claim that $h** doesn’t happen..)
-winter driving (I’m in the northeast and school is 15 miles away through Dec., Jan., and Feb.)
I’m paying for gas so that’s where the Prius has an obvious advantage! On the other hand, I do feel much safer in a truck like the Grand Cherokee.
I was considering like picking up the Jeep then going through the winter for a year or so and if the gas REALLY catches up to me I could swap it back out for the used Prius then.
What do you guys think?
Fuel economy of the Prius is a big plus, as you won’t have to visit a gas station as often, so gas money will be cheaper.
You know the service history of the Prius, since it was your Dad’s car. According to Consumer Reports, the Toyota Prius ranks in their best of the best list for reliability, while the Jeep Grand Cherokee ranks in the worst of the worst. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/used-cars/cr-recommended/best-and-worst-used-cars/overview/best-and-worst-used-cars.htm You don’t want to be paying for lots of maintenance, and have your car in the shop all that often.
SUVs in general are NOT safer. (Living in the northeast myself, most of the vehicles on the side of the road in the winter are actually the big SUVs – heavier, so harder to stop or steer once sliding, and a higher center of gravity so more likely to roll over.)
(If you are really concerned about vehicle safety in the winter, take the school bus! You are guaranteed to get there and back, less stress on you to drive there, and your car is safe at home.)
See http://safercar.gov/ for crash test ratings by the US Dept. of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
vehicle, frontal driver rating, frontal passenger rating, side driver rating, side rear passenger rating, rollover rating
2005 Toyota Prius, 5 star, 4 star, 4 star, 4 star, 4 star, (rates better if you have the VSC or side air bag options)
http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site/safercar/menuitem.db847bd57e3dc1f885dfc38c35a67789/?vgnextoid=c95df2905bf54110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD
2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 3 star, 3 star, 4 star, 5 star, not tested
http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site/safercar/menuitem.db847bd57e3dc1f885dfc38c35a67789/?vgnextoid=c95df2905bf54110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD
See http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx for crash test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Toyota Prius:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=566
The 2005 model rates overall overall good for the frontal offset test. Also, it rates poor if base, good if with optional side air bags, for the side impact test. Overall rates marginal for rear crash test.
Jeep Grand Cherokee: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=341
The 2004 model rates marginal overall for frontal offset test. (Side impact test and rear crash test not performed on that model year.)
Get rid of the Goodyear Integrity tires that came stock on your Dad’s Prius, swap them out for a better “all-season” M&S tire (or just get a dedicated set of snow tires for the winter), and as long as you drive appropriate for the conditions (slow down! watch for other drivers), you will be fine in the Prius.
Besides, you are probably already familiar with the vehicle, which will make it that much easier on you.
You’ll probably lose out monetarily on the constant trade-ins. Why not go the other route, try the Prius for a year then decide if you really need to trade for a Jeep?
There are currently long waiting lists and dealer markups over MSRP for new Prius, as has seen in the past for a new redesign, and also during the summer gasoline price hikes. Used Prius usually see higher prices at the same time, for demand/availability reasons. So, you may get a better trade now than you will next year, but you never know where gas prices will be in the future…
Are you also paying for your insurance? You may want to call your auto insurance agent to find out what the difference would be for the two vehicles.