Guess what the cheapest vehicle to ensure is...

insure.com said:

Jeep grabs a remarkable seven of the 20 "least expensive to insure" spots.

While Jeeps exude an "adventurous spirit," they're usually not used for reckless abandon. According to Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Irvine, Calif.-based Kelley Blue Book, owners of Jeeps tend to be single or married women under age 45, who display prudent driving behavior.

"While there is an 'adventuresome' image to the Jeep brand, for every Wrangler that does serious off-roading, there are dozens of Wranglers and Grand Cherokees and Compasses -- and CR-Vs, Siennas and Traverses -- that are used to carefully haul kids around suburbia at sub-50-mph speeds most of the time," he says. "This demographic and these driving conditions don't cause a lot of accidents, thankfully."

While advertising may show Jeeps on craggy rocks, it's not unusual for Jeeps to never go off-roading.

Mark Takahashi, auto editor for Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, Calif., agrees that most Jeeps are regarded as family vehicles. "If you're driving your family around, you will drive more carefully, and not take chances, because you have a vested interest in being a careful driver," he says.

Jeep Wranglers in particular are very economical to repair, which helps keep insurance rates down. If you get a dent in your door, the body shop can easily remove the door.

"It's usually bolted rather than welded together. Look at the doors of a Jeep Wrangler to this day, and they're removable, just like the old Army Jeeps," says Takahashi.

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Jeeps and SUVs also likely have an advantage because of their height. "They are higher-riding than the average car," Wiesenfelder says. "So if they are in a collision with an average car, that car will have greater damage than the Jeep."

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Utah_jeepster said:

funny look at the difference between a #1 the sport model and #20 the Rubicon. all that for a special transfer case and a D44?

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TerryMason said:

I suspect it has more to do with the people buying the Rubicon vs the Sport buyer.

I'd bet the normal Rubicon buyer would be younger, and likely a more aggressive driver. I'm not basing that on anything more than my imagination.

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