jeep yj : So here I am car shopping. I'm pretty sure that I want to pick upeither a SAAB 900 or a Jeep YJ 1988-90. The 900 seems to go for about$6K to $8K hereabouts, and the YJ for $8K to $10K.Any comments? In particular, is the YJ worth its relatively high priceto somebody who wants it primarily for street driving (some countryroads, some bad road conditions, but no real off-roading)? I don't know Jeeps at all, so I don't know what model name a YJ corresponds to, but IIHS frequency of injury claim rates on specific Jeep are: Cherokee 4X4 4 door is 74 (better than average); Cerokee 4X4 2 door is 81 (average); Cherokee 4 door is 94 (average), and the Cherokee 2 door is 103 (average). They're based on percentages, where 100 is average for all cars. A 120 would be 20% more injury claims than average. The range for all cars is 32 (Mercedes SL Convertible) to 220 (Hyundai Scoupe).The YJ includes models like the Laredo and the Renegade. It's thecurrent version of the good ol' Willys -- easily distinguished fromthe CJ by its square headlamps and slightly different grille.Wow. Quite the choice here. These vehicles are not at all alike.The YJ is known as the Jeep Wrangler here in the US.
jeep yj : Suvivability - of the car or for you? If your personal safety isthe main concern, as much as I love Jeeps (I own a Wrangler/YJ)and hate Saabs (mainly for their looks) it's not even in the same class as the Saab. The Jeep simply has NO designed in crashprotection other than hoping the stout bumpers and frame saveyou from being crushed. There are NO explicit energy-absorbingcrush zones ala Saab an Volvo, the doors on the hard-top modelhave no side impact beams (the soft-top model's doors are even LESSprotective.) Also, in roll-over situations, the Jeep either hasa cloth top (i.e. no protection) or a fiberglass top (i.e. minimalprotection.) Yes, the Jeep has a "roll-bar" but it's not a realroll-bar - Jeep calls it a sport-bar. Better than nothing, but notreally designed to save your but in a high-energy roll. Oh, anothernote, the Jeep does have a higher center of gravity than the low-slungSaab which means that it is more likely to go top-side down (no, I'mnot a Nader follower, just believe in physics.) In a crash, the YJ iself may suffer less damage than the Saab, but the Saab is designed to take more of the abuse so the energy is less likely to get tranferred to YOU. Simply put, the Saab should be a much safer car than the YJ - sorry to burst your bubble.
jeep yj : On the other hand, I don't believe that the Jeep is inherentlydangerous, either. I own one- remember? I drive it knowing that it'snot a sports car and therefore won't handle like one (even thoughthe 4.0l engine is a lot of fun.) Safety is mainly the responsibilityof the driver.By the way, I would like to recommend that if you do decide to buy aYJ/Wrangler, please consider NOT buying one that is older thanthe 1991 model year. 1991 is when the 4.0l I-6 engine became available and is generally considered a superior engine (performanceand reliability) to the 4.2l that came in models through 1990.The 2.5l 4-banger is a good little engine (and in fact forms thebasis of the nice fuel injection system that is on the 4.0l) butis a bit underpowered.From: ()Subject: Re: SAAB 900 and Jeep YJ Newsgroups: Date: 1994-08-07 15:17:28 PST In article (Davin Lim) writes:Well, nothing more need be said about the Saab's superior crash protection.But I'll address a few other issues. First of all, get (if you can) a Turbo 900 that is water cooled , which wouldmake it post 1988. The later the better, as quality gets much better at say '91, although hopefully the bugs will already be out of the used 900 Tby the time you get it. The older turbos are okay, but are not as durable(the water cooled ones are very, very durable!).
jeep yj : Also, in therms of highway driving, the Saab is going to be MUCH tighterand more fun. Jeeps flex much more and are noiser (they go from noisy - >deafening with the top down), and don't seem to be cars you want to drivefast for very long (at least IMHO, remembering a punishing 3 hour drive) ... whereas the Saab if anything, gets better at high speeds. It'snot wildly quick off the line, but it can really fly if you've got yourradar detector on. I've seen 140 MPH in one, and it is perfectlysolid and relatively quiet at that speed. With some Group 7 (?) DIYmodifications (like a water injector and so forth) . . which are reallyvery inexpensive, you'll have more power than you know what to do with.It is nice to be able to ride around in a jeep with the (Soft) top down,but the Saab can really be a driving experience, and the highway is it'selement, most unlike the jeep. (to say nothing of it's capacious cargohauling abilities and fuel economy).You're right. I was really thinking of it's stablitity at highway speeds,but it really doesn't have a solid feeling. (isn't a MB the stiffestthing on the road?)
jeep yj : Well, in the back seat it is, without a doubt. Jeep has an odd propensityfor turning out really uncomfortable seats, IMHO, and combined withit's rough road manners, you have a car you'll be sore from , more o r less. Ahh. Thank you. 85. Where 100 is an average frequency of injury claims for all cars. So the Wrangler has 85% of the average rate of injury claims. This still puts it in IIHS's "average" range. The Saab 900 4-door scored 79 ("better than average"); the 2 door scored 85, same as the Wrangler. In doing this research I've come across several cases of vehicles which "should" score low, but didn't, or vice-versa. The Volvo 740, 4-door scored 98, for instance. And the Corvette scored 68! Except for normalizing for age of driver, the data makes no attempt to control for driving habits, but that doesn't seem to explain anything here, since if anything, Volvo drivers are probably less wild-and-crazy than Corvette drivers. Still, maybe Jeep drivers are especially careful.I think that Corvette drivers tend to drive very slowly and carefully around here because (a) the cars are rather fragile on poor roads and (b) they attract tickets. The Volvo drivers around here are rather daring and many are good arguments for annual drivers tests or, at least, eyesight tests. They appear to believe that having a safe car makes them exempt from traffic laws or courtesy. Jeep drivers tend to take it rather slow on freeways too, from what I've seen, mainly because the idea of having a Wrangler is usually "hey, a cheap convertible I can rationalize by saying I need to go through snow in the winter." Thus the low accident rating?
|
|
1989 jeep cherokee, 1999 jeep cherokee, 2003 jeep rubicon, 2004 jeep grand cherokee, farrish jeep, full size jeep, hummer jeep, jasper jeep, jeep 2003, jeep acessories, jeep auto parts, jeep bicycle, jeep bicycles, jeep bike, jeep cheroke, jeep cherokee, jeep cherokee accesories, jeep cherokee parts, jeep cherokee report, jeep commando, jeep compass, jeep decals, jeep forum, jeep golf, jeep grand cherokee accessories, jeep ika, jeep liberty, jeep liberty 2003, jeep liberty review, jeep magazine, jeep performance, jeep pics, jeep replacement parts, jeep reviews, jeep rims, jeep rubicon, jeep sahara, jeep seats, 2002 gmc sonoma, 2003 gmc sonoma, 2003 gmc truck, 2003 gmc yukon denali, gmc 2003, gmc autos, gmc boxing, gmc c3, gmc ca, gmc cinemas, gmc consultores, gmc danali, gmc delorean, gmc delorian, gmc denali, gmc denanilli, gmc envoy, gmc envoy recall, gmc envoy reviews, gmc envoy xuv, gmc gnome, chrysler 2003, chrysler 300c, chrysler atlantic, chrysler building architect, chrysler building new york, chrysler building pictures, chrysler caravan, chrysler cherokee, chrysler credit canada, chrysler crossfire, chrysler daimler, chrysler daytona, chrysler de, chrysler deutschland, chrysler eagle 90, chrysler employee discount, chrysler equation, chrysler es, chrysler espaa, chrysler gebrauchtwagen, chrysler gem, chrysler homepage, chrysler hndler, chrysler italia, chrysler jeep, chrysler logo, chrysler mexico, chrysler minivans, chrysler neon insurance, chrysler racing outboard, chrysler sailboats, chrysler service center