rai

I am planning on my oldest child who will start driving this fall. Was thinking what would be safer a small SUV such as Honda CRV or Mazda CX-5 or instead a midsize car such as Accord or Legacy?

I believe we don't want a very large car such as a Taurus or larger SUV like Grand Cherokee or large Minivan.

So I am curious the pros or cons of a small SUV for a young driver regarding safety.

I've been reading, that the SUV v Car crash the SUV tend to be far safer, but on the other hand, single car crashes tend to be more prevalent in a SUV or worse due to risk of roll over.

I had a bad vibe about Cute-utes mainly since I was around when the Suzuki mini SUVs were first out where it seemed as if you could roll the car just by taking a turn too sharply. I realize these days a SUV like a CRV or CX-5 are more substantial with longer wheelbase and I believe all new SUVs have stability control.

Not looking at anything right now, but do I look at small SUV or are they contraindicated for young inexperienced drivers?

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Volvo S60, Volvo XC60 are very safe

mmarshall

Yes, 25 years ago, the Suzuki Samurai and Jeep CJ/Wrangler (which had poor technology and design even for that era), were flipping over faster than pancakes at IHOP. However, I wouldn't even concern myself with that today. We're living in a totally different age of auto design...though I do agree, however, that a even a brand-new Wrangler is probably not the best vehicle for a teen-ager.

Cute-utes, today, are still (slightly) more prone to tipsiness than lower-stance sedans, but that, as you note, has been vastly minimized by advances in chassis/suspension and electronic vehicle stability control. Unless it is part of Volvo's Roll-Stability system (which is also used on some older Ford SUVs from when Ford owned Volvo), VSC will not necessarily correct excessive body lean which could cause a roll-over. But, much of the time, it will definitely lessen the chances of a vehicle getting into that extreme a position from oversteer/spin, unless the wheels slide into a curb or something which could force a rollover.

Among cute-utes, of course, there are certainly plenty to choose from. The Honda CR-V, for instance, is a top seller for a reason. It combines excellent reliability/build-quality, good flexibility, decent road manners, a smooth carlike ride, and good resale value...though that can make it hard to get a good deal on one. The Subaru Outback also shares many of the same qualities....and it drives even MORE car-like.

FrankReynoldsCPA

The best safety feature is a well educated driver

I drove an 89 Firebird in high school and turned out ok.

lamar411

My 17 year old drives my Camry to school, but would prefer something small and higher up. He also wants a stick, but i dont think we will be able to find something that fits both those wants.

rai

I believe Subaru Forrester could be had with a stick but not sure if that's any smaller than a Camry.

rai

Found this article

http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/ar...arge-cars.html

Shows newer SUVs were safest statistically by death per million vehicles registered.

Not the be all and end all of criteria because it doesn't take into account miles driven, also doesn't take into account individual cars which might be safe or unsafe within its category, but quite dramatic.

Have to look at the chart, but something around overall 20 deaths / million for SUVs and 40 / million for cars.

UDel

You would have to research safety tests and crash ratings for individual vehicles. They have some new standards like partial side barrier crashes which are tougher on cars. In most cases cars are more nimble, able to brake quicker, avoid accidents, and less prone to rollovers which can make a big difference but CUV's are getting much better.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-safe...s-on-the-road/

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...us-rating.html

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news...t-cars-of-2013

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Actually that's an excellent point. I know that my 2IS would not test well with today's tests, but I do know that as long as I am alert/aware, this car is very spry and nimble. I can recall two instances where my car's emergency handling limits saved me from being involved in terrible accidents. The most recent one was last Cinco De Mayo in which a drunk driver sped by and cut off several drivers ahead of me and one car a Liberty trying to avoid this drunk driver, the car rolled up an embankment and came crashing back down with debris flying everywhere. Through my moonroof I could see a wheel barreling down on my car about to strike my A-Pillar and windshield. I was able to dive into the next lane. The whole thing happened in a matter of seconds but it felt like an eternity. The drunk driver's plates were caught and the DA is about to prosecute and charged with manslaughter for putting the driver of the Liberty a young teenage girl into a quadriplegic state. Happy she's getting justice, but it's so sad. Drive safe everyone.

UDel

There have been couple occasions I have barely avoided a serious accident only because I was able to quickly dodge or brake at the very instant it almost happened, if I was in a pickup, big SUV, or a poor handling big car I would have gotten in a serious accident.

I was taking my friend to the Philadelphia airport several years ago with another friend who had a pickup, we were talking about cars a lot lately and he was telling me how much he loved his pickup but also really liked my Lexus sedan, in front of me was a guy hauling tires and lawn equipment in his pickup when all the sudden he hit or ran over something and the tires and stuff he was hauling came flying out of the back, we were doing maybe 75 or 80 and not only did I have to quickly swerve back and forth and brake to avoid the stuff he was hauling I had to avoid another car that swerved out of the way right into my lane, I managed to dodge everything in a matter of a few seconds without losing control. If I just slammed my brakes on we still would have hit a bunch of stuff on a busy highway it was that close. It was one of those moments that everyone's heart was beating out of their chests for a few seconds, my friend who loved his pickup just shook his head and said there is just no way he would have been able to maneuver, handle, brake, and avoid all that stuff in his pickup and still maintain control and would have got in a serious accident, he told me he went out looking for a used Corvette or S2000 to be his daily driver a few days later after that experience. Handling safety is one of the main reasons I prefer sedans, coupes, and sports cars over pickups, SUV's, and most CUV's.

The safest vehicle is the vehicle that can help avoid the accident in the first place.

corradoMR2

^^^ Good example.

Over the last few weeks, I have had to avoid in a couple situations huge potholes at the last second. With my IS, very controlled whereas with the RX, despite having the F-Sport suspension, it's still an SUV with all its mass and you feel the light wobble immediately after the quick avoidance maneuver.

pman6

Truf.

SUV is the worst choice. Sucky mileage, sucky handling. People think sitting high up gives them the sense of safety or something.

All new cars are pretty safe, if you look at crash ratings.

KIA Forte is the most I would give a high school kid.

Sulu

In a crash between a larger car and a smaller car (or between a CUV/SUV and a car of *similar* size or smaller), the larger, heavier car or CUV/SUV will win every time; it is just physics -- the heavier car will win every time. That is why the NHTSA and IIHS crash tests are said to be equivalent to 2 cars of the same size and weight crashing.

There has been the PERCEPTION in the past few years, especially in North America, that higher-riding SUVs are safer than cars, but for all the reasons given by others here, it is more of a perception than truth. CUVs/SUVs are larger, heavier and sit higher than their similar-sized cars (or the cars they are based on). For example, the Honda CR-V is based on the Honda Civic and the Toyota RAV-4 is based on the Toyota Corolla but both of these crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) are wider and heavier than the cars they are based on.

That perception of safety is also likely to make these heavy, wagons-on-stilts less safe in the hands of inexperienced drivers (such as newly licensed, teenaged drivers). Thinking that they are safer, drivers of CUVs/SUVs may drive faster and less defensively, making it that much more difficult to avoid a situation (potholes, swerving drivers, runaway tires, etc.) when needed. Because they are heavier and higher-riding, CUVs/SUVs are already less maneuverable than similarly-sized cars and it only gets worse when they are driven at higher speeds.

New cars (and CUVs/SUVs) these days are more likely to come with roll-stability control but they do nothing to correct excessive body lean which is much more likely with heavier, higher-riding CUVs/SUVs (with higher centres of gravity). What they will do is apply specific brakes to slow the vehicle somewhat, making it less likely that the tipping vehicle will actually roll over. But if the inexperienced driver panics as the vehicle starts to tip, and goes faster, yanks the steering or suddenly stomps on the brakes, the stability control may not be able to compensate for the sudden, unexpected change of momentum of the vehicle -- the roll stability control will not save you from stupid, panicky mistakes.

rai

I believe this is far (FAR) misleading. Crash test ratings are considering one thing, how a car will behave when hitting a fixed object or when hitting another car of the exact same weight).


Kia Forte is a car weighing under 3000 lbs. in other words its smaller than 80% of the cars on the road (just my guess) it's close to a ton less weight than a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I an not sure you have looked at the article I posted in this thread. It seems as if some people are just throwing out ideas off the top of their head not really looking into what the real world data shows.

Face a 5 star small size car is nowhere near as safe as a 5 star mid size car. Impossible (in a crash) Physics. If a Yaras hits a Camry the deceleratrion on the Yaras is much greater, the dame to the small car is much greater, the crumple zones on a small car is much less.


Driver deaths per million registered passenger vehicles 1-3 years old, Source: IIHS

Please look at the data. The driver death for small car is 65 per million owned and the driver death for small SUV is 22 per million owned. So in other words the small car has 3x the driver death.

I owned a S2000 myself. I can appreciate the small antidotes people are throwing out that you can avoid a crash in a nimble sporty car. But the overall result if my S2000 was hit by a SUV or was T-boned by a Pick up truck would be catastrophic.


Yaris vs Camry


If you are the least bit interested in physics and to see what happens when a small car hits a mid size car view that video

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskto...onomy-policies

rai

I am not saying driving education is not important. But the type of car (size also) matters.

We used to own an old Escort. That was a nice little car, it got fantastic gas mileage, was reliable and cheap.

No way would I want to be in crash with that car.

I am not hoping for a crash scenario. I am just looking for the safest car to go along with driver education and careful driving.

I know all the antidotes people say how they feel safe in their small cars because they can swerve and avoid stuff. But I feel much safer in my MDX and Odyssey than in my M3.

I know there is data and IMO the data supports that small cars are NOT safer than large or mid sized cars or SUVs.