I was trying to talk my sister into buying a Tracker for their family.  Here is her response:

Joe thinks that a Tracker is "a rolling casket".  He says he loves his daughter and would not put her in one of those.  Chances of getting in an accident and walking away are slim to none.

How would you refute this?

I never rolled one and I slid sideways down a hill for  about 100 once.

I was trying to talk my sister into buying a Tracker for their family.  Here is her response:

Joe thinks that a Tracker is "a rolling casket".  He says he loves his daughter and would not put her in one of those.  Chances of getting in an accident and walking away are slim to none.

How would you refute this?

Good...more for us !! 

 I can get some pictures of 2 different trackers in the local junkyard for you. One of them is a 2dr ragtop that got a hard hit to the drivers front corner, rest of the vehicles is actaully quite solid, and the other is a late model 4dr that was a rollover that came out with all occupents SAFE once again. Think that those would help any?

a mind changed against its will....will be of the same opinion still....

well what are they getting? suburban,excursion, hummer, Sherman tank? or maybe some little gas sipper car? if thats the case I would plead a case of foul weather driving safety.

you usually cant fix ignorance. take him out for a ride most people fall in love with the Suzuki's for one reason or another.

I can get some pictures of 2 different trackers in the local junkyard for you. One of them is a 2dr ragtop that got a hard hit to the drivers front corner, rest of the vehicles is actaully quite solid, and the other is a late model 4dr that was a rollover that came out with all occupents SAFE once again. Think that those would help any?

If you happen to be at the junkyard the pics would be cool to see.  I doubt that I will change his mind though.

As has been said above, it really depends on what you are comparing it to.  That being said we have an 02 a4 avant (mommy mobile), an 95 jetta (my DD) and my 97 2dr rag top tracker, do i feel that the tracker is a safe enough vehicle to take my family on short trips, yes.  Is it the vehicle i would choose for our trips to southern CA? no.  I have a hard time buying into the notion that i should COMPLETELY avoid certain vehicles based on your "perception" of their safety.  You can have the safest car in the world but if you drive like a tool it doesn't matter.  Using my personal vehicles for example; if someone in a (insert large vehicle of choice) hits us hard or fast enough there isn't going to be much difference whether we are in the audi or tracker.  I say its 50/50 driver/car.  At least drive one and actually take the time to learn and evaluate the vehicle before dismissing it, or dont, and leave the trackers for the rest of us!

Mike

I have been driving a Tracker for almost 10 years now.  We drove it on Chicago freeways and tollways for years, and never felt unsafe.  We have been towing a camping trailer with it for several years and never had any problems with stability.

There have been incidents... 
...I slid it sideways about 150 feet down a sand hill into a tree (messing around at Badlands), but I drove it home.
...I whacked an 8 point buck at 50MPH.  I had to wait for daylight, because there were no lights left on the front, but I drove it home. 

And, when it snows, guess what my wife prefers to drive to work.  Hint: NOT her RWD Blazer...

My Sidekick ate a Ford Thunderbird, was a rear ender, my wife was driving
and the T-bird didn't see her stop, she drive home, the T-bird had to get
towed away 

Wild

I have an 89 2dr soft top.  A few years ago my wife got hit head on by a Ford explorer.  After I pulled the front bumper out of the tire and put on the spare I drove it home, and continued to drive it daily to work and back.  I'm still driving it today.  The explorer had to be towed away.   

LOL, Looks like Suzuki's think Fords are mighty tasty

They eat fords out on the trail too. LOL

My 4-door got hit in the right rear by a Crown Vic doin about 40-45,  both had our seatbelts on and we both walked away fine.  These cars are safe,  but as mentioned, under certain circumstances, any car is a death trap.   

BTW here's the Tracker's return to glory: 

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/general-suzuki-forum/geo-vs-crown-vic-guess-who-won/msg226780/#msg226780

And it's still on the road...tell 'em that!!

i had a front end collision with mine, killed the grille and passanger headlight mount the s10 on the other hand was dragged away by a tow truck with major front end damage.
i had a rear end with a subaru that did 4000 worth of damage to the subi and it broke the 2 clips for the rear bumper cover on my kick.

ive had mine ripping around the streets and trails and pushed it as hard as some sports cars in the curves, its been up on 3 wheels in some corners and never felt unsafe. ive had it spin out on the highway in the snow as well. theres no way id take anything else, its a quality truck.