I'm not sure either but when I switched from a '04 Tiburon to my '01 Vx my payments also went down. Both were 2 door, V6 engines, and had the same safty options. The VX was a couple years older and has 4wheel drive, all these types of things make a difference. It appears that the VX is a very safe vehicle, I've seen some nasty wreck pictures that the occupents just walked away from. Call around and get some quotes.