OT: Talking Cars Tuesday
Missed last week, sorry about that. Anyway, I know we're all thrilled to see where the swoosh goes, but back to important topics:
What is your next car purchase? Why?
Could be a beater for the kids in high school, that new 'Slade to tow your boat, etc. etc. What's next?
go with the Jeep or the Subaru, unless $ isn't a factor. Mercedes and Audi are expensive to fix after an accident.
quick poll: does one really need AWD/4WD?
NO. Driving style and tire quality (whether snow tires or not) matters much more than powertrain.
BUT, AWD sure is fun in the snow. This is coming from someone who has owned 2 Subarus, so I may be a little biased.
However AWD adds weight/hurts mileage and doesn't add any safety benefits for about 99% of on road driving. The question above was "necessary"
A misconception is that AWD is safer in weather. It's not necessarily. AWD will help you GO, but it hurts when you try to stop. All cars have 4-wheel-brakes. the AWD adds about 200lbs on average, so it hurts your stopping distance, even in the dry. In some emergency manuvers with low traction AWD could benefit, but that's about it. And not if those manuvers involve the brake pedal.
So bad that I can count on one hand how many times I've been a passenger in a car with her driving.
No accidents since we got a car with AWD.
What else is new about the car with AWD? Does it have ABS where the other car didn't? better, newer tires? maybe your wife's driving is improved?
I'm glad she hasn't been in an accident, but saying it's thanks to 2 more wheels being able to "push" doesn't do much to convince me.
Obviously it isn't "necessary" because if it were then only AWD cars would be manufactured.
I would gladly take AWD over FWD or RWD in the winter. I have driven all three and can say that AWD is superior. Heavier, yes but what car stops good on snow and ice? It comes down to the driver and knowing how to drive in the snow and giving themselves plenty of time to stop.
When it comes to dry pavement, then yes, AWD gives no added safety benefit. An AWD Subaru is going to stop much better than a 4WD Truck in any conditions.
It's not about trying to stop. It's about if one or more wheels hit a slippery patch, which they will. The more wheels you have delivering power to a grippy part of the road, the better you'll do. If your front wheels hit the ice, you still have the rear wheels moving the car - and not coincidentally, off the ice. With traction control the car can then take all the power off the front wheels, and then off the rear wheels when they cross the icy patch. In a front-wheel drive car you have nothing.
In the kind of road you get during a heavy snow - not yet plowed, but with ruts where the traffic has been - the road has slippery patches and good patches, and AWD with traction control is going to keep the car way, way straighter and safer than 2WD.
My driveway is pretty steep. On a snowy day, you can get a 4WD vehicle up the driveway and into the garage. I had a '89 Taurus SHO that couldn't get half way up the driveway once there was more than an inch of snow on it. Winter driving in that car was a calculated risk. Great car when the weather was good, though. I switched to AWD/4WD cars with a '98 Audi A4 and have stayed with AWD since. Because I need to take some road trips during the winter driving right through the lake effect snow belt of Michigan, I buy snow tires, too. That way I can go forward, turn, and stop when the white stuff is falling.
I just put a payment down on my first car, it's a '15 Camaro. Can't wait to have enough money to start modding it.
We've enjoyed the Q5, but it has some quirks. The over-sized side view mirrors interfere with sight lines at times which really bothers her. Gas mileage is good, though. You can get about 500 highway miles from a tank of gas. Pulls my boat pretty well, too. We've rolled up a lot of miles pretty fast, so time to move on. Not sure what the replacement will be, though. She wants a hybrid to make the "I'm green" statement, but not many choices in the mid-sized SUV segment and hybrids still tend to be priced at a premium.
Most hybrid SUV's I've seen have a lower towing capacity than their non-hybrid counterparts. Something to keep in mind.
Try the Q5 Diesel, even better mileage, and hipster hybrid cred. Alternatively, there will be a plug in Q7 hybrid soon
unless they fixed the oversized side view mirrors. The new MMI nav system is much better which is one of our gripes about our Q5. Q7 is just huge and pretty pricey. We are empty nesters now, so too much vehicle for 2 people and a dog...or at least that's what my brain is telling me. The Q5 swallows a lot of stuff and has proven to have adequate space. We had a 2008 MDX which was just the right size to handle everything we'd cram in there for our 2 weeks on Lake Huron each summer. MDX still has a V-6, but it's not as thirsty as it used to be. Styling is still on the funky side, but I suspect we'll give it a try next year when it's time to buy a new vehicle.
and it's a dream. 800 miles per tank, clean diesel, tons of power and QUATTRO.
Can't go wrong!
How is a 13 year old already driving?
you believe in that your insurance company doesn't find out when she gets her license.
My premiums doubled.
Does it have to be a rollover machine for a new driver?
was a '79 LTD II.
Great car for an early driver. It had like 130hp out of 5.8 liters of V8. It was big, didn't go fast, and ate enough gas money to keep me out of trouble. ;-)
Looking for a 2013 Ford Fusion for the wife. My car ('99 Escort) is getting so old and beat up that I won't drive it through another winter. So I get her car for this up-coming winter and she gets a new/used car. It was either a new Ford Focus or a slightly used Fusion around the same price. She wants the bigger/nicer Fusion, and I don't want to hear complaints about clutch shudder in the Focus
Save yourself a bunch of money and buy some snow tires.
My wifes Audi TT convertible and my Jaguar XF just came to lease end. We have been diligently saving and bought both of them at the end of the lease. It's the first time in 30 years I don't have a car payment. I'm gonna ride that for awhile. Plus I just don't want to part with Jag. It has a 5.0 L V8 which you can't get anymore unless you drop 85+k for a supercharged model.. I for one, thoroughly enjoy consuming fossil fuels.
Both relatively new drivers, so looking for something that's reliable and safe, but hopefully on the smaller side (compact to midsize). I don't expect that they'll put a ton of miles on it, since we live in a large city.
I want to keep it in the $4K-$6K range, so I'm open to suggestions. Anybody got any suggestions for serious "value picks" out there?
They've got good info, as does Edmunds.com
Wife has an '07 focus that's probably about that price range, she loves it. The 5 door is very practical and good for a city. Parts are cheap.
I'm big on Edmund's too, and Cars.com was surprisingly useful when we were buying a new car this spring. A Focus would be a good choice - there are a wealth of options in this range, so I'm definitely inclined to go for value in terms of reliability.
Focus seems like a good bet. I would stick to models that are popular enough that parts and repairs are generally less costly.
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I truly believe electrics are the future. However.. 10 years is a hell of a long time to own any piece of technology, much less a car. Just think about how you'll feel in 2022, when your battery range is depleted, and the swanky new Model X is out there with killer new features, like MGoBlog directly to your brain, and you've got 3 more years of payments.
Would you buy a computer that you were locked into for 10 years? Then why buy a car, especially an electric?
Getting a Camaro this fall, not sure if I'm going to wait for the '16, or try to get a good deal on a '15 1SS since it was the last of the fifth generation Camaros.
Now is a great time to buy a Camaro. the new Mustang is selling like crazy and lots of people are waiting for the '16 Camaro. You should be able to get quite a deal if you're willing to buy a '15 now/before the '16 comes out.
As an aside, anyone who wants a mustang should wait until AFTER the new Camaro comes out. The Mustang is so hot right now /Mugatu voice.
We bought a pair of Harley's in April (Street Glide and a Night Rod Special), and a Lexus NX last month. Next vehicle will be some ways off.
