We bought our 1997 when it was a year old to be my "mommy" ride. We wanted a vehicle that would be safe and handle well in the snow, yet also offer a more car-like ride, and that was NOT a mini-van. : ) We test drove many other SUV's, Ford Explorer and Nissan Passport being a couple of them. I much prefer the look of the Jimmy over the more rugged SUV's, it's curvier look is appealing and stylish. And, for all the amenities, the Jimmy was a far better deal for the price. For just over $21,000 we got the high end touring package with the leather interior (SLT), custom running boards, sunroof, cd player, plus the body colored molding (not that gray funky stuff). To get all this in the other models, we were looking at quite a bit more money. The Jimmy switches to 4x4 with a push of a button, and the anti-lock brakes work wonderfully. The Jimmy offers an extremely comfortable ride for an SUV (perhaps because of the touring package), the sound system is above par, and it handles well. I especially like the fact that our Jimmy is bright white and oh-so-easy to clean. GMC offers a stellar warranty (yes, we bought the extended warranty) good for 5 additional years or up to 75,000 miles. The backseats fold down if you need more room for...say...oh...a Christmas tree or something. This SUV is one of the best. The only problems we have had with it, in the 1 1/2 years we've had it, is the slight problem of it stalling going down hills, right after it is started. If you put it in 2nd gear it's fine though : )