Stock off-roader

If you want more side-impact protection you could always weld in some steel tubing. I've also seen side-protecting bars with hinges and clips so it can swing out to let people in.

I'm glad to hear your friend is okay. My favorite safety feature after seatbelts is higher vehicle weight and strength. I was in a bad collision in a Ford Ranger supercab, about 3250 lbs curb weight and we were smoked by a cube van doing at least 20-25 mph. Had we been in a 2500 lb or lighter Honda hatchback or Geo Metro I would have needed to go to the hospital. I flew off the seat at least 8" before the seatbelt grabbed and at that made me notice the Ranger's ample headroom.I had neck cuts from the seat belt and whiplash that lasted a week.

I belive Jeep Wranglers weigh about 3000 lbs, not much more than a compact car so he probably would have been a little hurt. Maybe a few days I'm guessing.

I'm not too concerned with medical bills. I live in Canada. We only have to pay for prescription medicine, crutches and other stuff like that. Up here you'll lose more money from lost time at work than anything else.

ABS is a complicated system involving both electrical and hydrualic systems. While having the option to switch ABS on and off might be popular for us offroaders, it's likely carmakers think it would cost to much in research and development. I don't think we'll ever see this, or at least not for maybe 10 years.If you thought about modifying the brakes you can't remove ABS from an ABS brake system. If the 4x4's computer will let you replace the factory braking system with a system with no ABS that might be the only way you could have a new 4x4 and safely back down a slippery hill or mountain.

Also if they started offering this feature on all new cars and trucks, even cheap vehicles will get more expensive. I never wanted airbags or ABS to begin with. I prefer the simpler pre-1990's vehicles. My seat belt has worked fine in every collision I've ever been in, thank you very much!

Cars and trucks cost much more now (compared to inflation) because of complicated features like mandatory factory ABS and airbags. I don't want to be paying even more for a vehicle just to have "on/off" switches for all the features I never wanted anyways!  

About the cost of collisions, I heard a study done by insurance companies about and the amount of deaths and injuries related to crashes. The study compared the rates in the 1970's to the 90's and the new millenium. More people are being seriously injured and less people are dying than before. I'm talking stuff like amputions, people becoming vegetables, and injuries preventing people from working (permanent ones)

I know it's not very nice to hear, but dead people cost the insurance companies less. Just some food for thought...

first off if he wants to get out into the outdoors and drive off road he needs a driving course, and equipment if he gets stuck. I took a driving course cause I was a novice driver off road but a really good driver on road and it helped alot. As far as everyone suggesting a jeep wrangler they are built for off road. you can also look at pickups like the Toyota Tacoma, or Dodge Dakota, they were rated the two best midsized pickups for off road, and they both come in four door versions for more friends.  

while its true that removing abs components could be difficult or very expensive. There's no reason you can't essentialy get rid of abs, just pull the relay, sure you'll have an abs light n your dash you can't get rid of(unless you plug the relay back in)but removing it effectively deactivates the abs system, leaving your brakes to function properly, according to your input not some computer that doesn't understand you need the brakes to lock.  

Jeep Wrangler is one of the best off-road vehicles ever made. The doubt's about friends intelligence is embarrassing.

You know him best, if your that concerned you should drive him around. If he does happen to slid off the road he would be the safest in a Jeep. A second alternative would be a Toyota Land Cruiser.

cheers,
mono leaf springs  

Amen Brother  

I say buy your friend a cadillac preferably the 4 door town car model. Every time I go deep in the woods where my blazer with a 10" lift, welder front and rear and on 38" tires and I can barely get there, is some guy fishing on a lake with no other access with his caddy. I stayed and he left the way I came in. I did not follow him but he wasn't stuck when I left. That caddy has all the features and then some your looking for except the fwd.