In reply to aggie93

aggie93 said:

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ATL Aggie said:

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2017 Mazda3 Touring, 65k miles, $10k
2008 4Runner Limited, 2WD, 150k miles, $7,500

I was about to buy the Mazda from a colleague but a neighbor has just offered up a 4Runner. Which would you choose?

The 4Runner in my opinion is "cooler", but it it doesn't have modern safety features. It sits higher up which I think has some safety advantage. I personally would rather own the 4Runner, but my kids safety is more important. Is a more modern Mazda sedan going to be safer than an older 4Runner? Which is a better vehicle for an inexperienced driver?

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I've been to 2 funerals for kids that graduated with my son already from car wrecks, the last one was pretty much the most horrible and gut wrenching thing I've ever been to. Both were in Compact cars. Couple other kids have been in some really nasty accidents.

Both my boys drive F150s (one with a Ranch Hand, probably will put one on the other).. I'd go 4 Runner. Sorry to be so direct but I swore after that last funeral I was going to put my kids in tanks until they are off my payroll and then they can do what they want out of college.

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3 of my Nephews have been in rollover accidents in pickup trucks. In one of them my nephew was ejected which ironically save his life when his best friend was killed. One was from a blowout and another swerving to miss a driver who ran a red light. If we're keeping score, another one of their friends was killed in a pickup as well after losing control at high speed (rear wheel drive broke lose)

I bought a 2015 4Runner for myself, hated it and gave it to my older son. He ultimately wanted to get back in a sedan so we sold it and got him a Camry. 4 Runners are reliable as hell but they pretty much suck in every other way.

I'm sure your son is not like every other 16-18 year old boy who'll want to impress his friends. Make sure he understands its a 2 wheel drive and not meant for off-roading in basically any capacity. All of my buddies wanted to take whatever they had off-road in some capacity (I'm not talking about mudding, but just driving in places that aren't roads) and those of us with 2wd vehicles got stuck, damaged step bars, submerged them in mud they didn't see, etc.

Since he's learning to drive on your landcruiser he'll have a good understanding of handling issues but the 4runner will ride different.

I'd opt for the 4runner as it gives him an opportunity to maybe work a little on it and repair minor issues (especially trim/fit/finish things).

But when you say there's no interstate travel, don't forget that in college, there's always a chance for interstate travel and the kid with the biggest car is the most likely going to be the driver for those last minute road trips or adventures that come up.

In reply to sts7049

sts7049 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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No clean delta 88s in your area?

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one of these days people will learn to appreciate this land yacht

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I'm old enough that all my high school friends with cars were driving the 70's vintage land yachts that were previously their parents daily drivers. Besides the land yachts, the other spaces in the high school lot were filled with used 70s pickups that had single cabs, bench seats and long beds (and often gun racks in the rear windows). Heck, even in grad school in the late 80's I was driving a monstrous, 4-door '72 Dodge Coronet that was handed down from my grandmother. Theres a lot of good things about those cars as long as gas is cheap.

Hard to beat the low mileage of the Mazda.

I vote for the Mazda.

We had just gone through this exercise, we were going to give our teenage son our first gen Sequoia but ended up giving him a 3 years old CPO CX5 with enough warranty to get him through college.

While a full frame truck seems safe, the inherent rollover risk at highway speed is too big for inexperience drivers. Also the modern tech (blind spot monitor and rear cam) is very helpful as secondary nanny while they learn to live without these tech.

In reply to Trinity Ag

Trinity Ag said:

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aggie93 said:

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Trinity Ag said:

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Mas89 said:

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Not so sure about that. Both my kid and wife have been hit at an intersection by red light runners. 10 years apart. Real thankful they were in F150/ Tahoe. Pretty sure both would have had significant injuries in a smaller/ lower riding vehicle. Son's truck was totaled and both were bruised/ shaken up.

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I'm glad your family is safe, but personal anecdotes don't mean that cars aren't safe.

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A young driver in their first 5 years of driving is the time they are most likely to be in a devastating wreck. That's just reality. Doesn't mean that cars are unsafe but it does mean that it is worth prioritizing safety for a young driver. They are by definition inexperienced and they are also most likely to feel invincible. That means they are likely to drive when they are tired or panic or a variety of other activities behind the wheel that can be disastrous.

There are other cars besides trucks that are safer as well, I just cringe when I see parents put their kids in little cars because they are cheaper or they want to save some money driving back and forth to college.

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A significant number of fatal injuries stem from single car rollovers -- from distracted driving, from excessive speeding, etc. SUVs are more prone to these type accidents.

You can absolutely paint scenarios where a truck is preferred from pure mass alone.

But they are also more likely to get inexperienced drivers in trouble because of their mass, less responsive braking, and greater instability in emergency maneuvers.

Edit -- I just checked the IIHS data -- this is more true of older models (pre-2009). The broad adoption of stability control has greatly reduced the single vehicle fatality rates of SUVs.

Still, Mazda 3 is a top performer in crash tests. I wouldn't worry about putting a young driver in one -- any more than I would about young drivers driving to begin with.

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To each his own. I spent a lot of time teaching my boys how to drive a truck and be responsible. The main thing I like about them is at least it leaves them in control much more than a smaller vehicle. The main issue with trucks is the awareness of the size and space issues but that's usually a fender bender and cameras and warning systems help a lot with that.

You can certainly still die in a pickup truck and especially if you are not paying attention, same as any vehicle. The most important thing of course is teaching your kid how to drive defensively to the point where you make them a little paranoid. For instance with my boys I always say "Rule #1, assume everyone around you is an idiot that wants to cause a wreck". That means slow down, give space, make sure you always have an out and are always thinking multiple steps ahead.

BTW, I would never want my kids in some lifted up monster either. Once they are grown they can go buy their own toys if they want, I just want to make sure they get to that point. I will also say that the reality is that Texas especially has a lot of big vehicles in it and if a Mazda 3 connects with my son's F150 with a Ranch Hand on it it won't be pretty unfortunately. For my son btw he drives a lot through the country, often at night, on his way home. If he hits a deer his main concern will be not panicking and washing off the mess. Hit a deer with a Mazda 3 at any significant speed and it's probably going through the windshield.

If your kid is only doing city driving a small car is probably fine, maybe even better in many cases I suppose. Fatalities are rare driving under 40mph. Like I said to each his own. For my oldest he had an Altima in HS just driving back and forth to school. If he drove pretty much anywhere else he was in my F150 and then when he went to school I got him (with him putting up a good bit) a 2013 F150 with the Ranch Hand. Now my younger son drives my 2015 F150 and he will take it to college. Like I said those funerals really shook me up.

In reply to 1agswitchin4lanes

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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No clean delta 88s in your area?

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I feel seen.

In reply to George08 My parent's were in a head on in their F350 with a ranch hand full replacement while pulling a horse trailer a few years ago. They were almost stopped but the other driver who was a fault slammed into them at about 25mph. They were able to drive their pick-up home and get it fixed later but the other car was totaled.

I've hit a few deer while going 65+ with my ranch hand and there is no damage whatsoever and the deer just get flung off to the side.

I can see how it protects your front end of your vehicle from damage- especially with a deer. What I don't understand is how it would make the people in the vehicle any safer- while it protects your grill, radiator, and lights wouldn't it also interfere with how the truck is designed to crumple and deploy airbags etc?

In reply to txags92

txags92 said:

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Buck Turgidson said:

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sts7049 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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No clean delta 88s in your area?

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one of these days people will learn to appreciate this land yacht

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I'm old enough that all my high school friends with cars were driving the 70's vintage land yachts that were previously their parents daily drivers. Besides the land yachts, the other spaces in the high school lot were filled with used 70s pickups that had single cabs, bench seats and long beds (and often gun racks in the rear windows). Heck, even in grad school in the late 80's I was driving a monstrous, 4-door '72 Dodge Coronet that was handed down from my grandmother. Theres a lot of good things about those cars as long as gas is cheap.

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Parallel parking for your DPS license test is a blast in a 4-door Delta 88.

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The ninety eight wasn't available?

I didn't read all the posts but we went with the Mazda 3.Twice. Both totaled. (Not the kid's fault.) A lot of car for the money.

In reply to 1agswitchin4lanes

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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txags92 said:

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Buck Turgidson said:

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sts7049 said:

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1agswitchin4lanes said:

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No clean delta 88s in your area?

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one of these days people will learn to appreciate this land yacht

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I'm old enough that all my high school friends with cars were driving the 70's vintage land yachts that were previously their parents daily drivers. Besides the land yachts, the other spaces in the high school lot were filled with used 70s pickups that had single cabs, bench seats and long beds (and often gun racks in the rear windows). Heck, even in grad school in the late 80's I was driving a monstrous, 4-door '72 Dodge Coronet that was handed down from my grandmother. Theres a lot of good things about those cars as long as gas is cheap.

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Parallel parking for your DPS license test is a blast in a 4-door Delta 88.

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The ninety eight wasn't available?

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The other options were an 82 Buick LeSabre or a 78 Dodge custom van.

I drove a late 60's Chevy. Great car.

My wife drove a Mazda 3 for a few years. Great car, never gave us any trouble. It did get very uncomfortable on long trips. Unfortunately, she was t-boned in it and totaled the car. She did not get hurt though. She drives a Highlander now.