by Simon 73 Replies latest jw friends
Wondering, do you go down to -30C, -22F? There's extreme, then there's Canadian extreme.
I dunno? But we had a weather man move back from New York because there was "no action" in the weather! We get some pretty bad wind chill factors. I've cried in the cold and my tears turned to ice. Once, when I was trying to scrap the windows off without gloves on, my hand stuck to the windshield! Ouch!
Simon,
The last car I owned was a Subaru Impreza. I'd had a bunch of cars previously, including, Golf GTI, BMW, and SAAB 900 Turbo, and nothing came close to the Impreza.
It was the best car I ever had.
steve
Resale value should be part of your equation. Honda, Honda, Honda on resale.
Are you part of an auto buying club? Try Costco Warehouse. I looked at a Honda Odysey (minivan). The Touring (top of the line) with leather, navigation, back up camera, sensors all around, dvd, etc. had a sticker of a little over $40,000. According to Kelly Blue Book, most people are buying this car new at $38,000. The Costco price is $35,500. According to www.kbb.com (kelly blue book), this car sells for $36,000 used, between private parties! The Ex-L version did not have as great of a mark-down, but it was still good. Best thing - no hassles with the dealer. I was impressed with the Costco discount. Hondas don't normally get discounted much.
My old 4wd Jeep Cherokee V8 has over 150,000 miles on it. No problems.
I never owned a Subaru - but they are supposed to be good running, great in snow vehicles.
I test drove a Mazda 5 (or 6?) (the new ultra-mini van/conversion car). Great price and good pep at the lower speeds. Started making noise & vibrations after 50 mph. It was too small. Built for people who are under 5'6. While it sits 6 people, the third row was inches from the back bumper. There are no airbags on the rear. Plus, the third row did not have any leg room. This was even more evident when you place a car seat in the second row. Plus, the front row had to be pushed too far forward to put a car seat in the second row. I would not put my family in that car.
Also, try the Audi A4 or A6. Had 2 A4's, both were great cars. Solid, no problem vehicles. Handled great, fun to drive, and no maintenance cost other than tires. The dealership did the oil changes/tune ups on them, and gave me a free loaner for the day!
Skeeter
Because you mention safety as being a number one priority, I would suggest almost any of the Subaru models for the AWD, which you are obviously already aware of. Volvos, though rather ugly and boxy in my opinion, are also well known for receiving high safety ratings consistantly. As for economical gas-wise, I would suggest VW...don't know off the top of my head how they rate on safety, but the VW Jetta (with a 5spd manual and diesel engine) gets roughly 50mpg highway miles. Even the gas engine models average 40+ mpg.
Toyotas and Hondas have a very good customer satisfaction rating, and are often described as being most reliable over time, even with high miles.
Though many people swear by them, I would steer clear of Jeeps-they are a product or subsidiary of Chrysler, which I mistrust greatly. I would also stay away from Hyundais; they are extremely cheaply made, and a mechanic friend of mine used to joke that they keep him in business. I always get a chuckle when I happen to go through the used autos for sale section of the local paper, invariably somebody will have a "Honda Sonata" or something like that listed-whether they are purposly misleading people because they think a Honda will generate more interest, or if its a common mistake of people not very savvy about cars, I don't really know. (Sonata is a Hyundai model.)
Check out the Toyota Prius...you'll be surprised at the room inside! Gas mileage...50/60 mpg!
Swalker
I think Toyota or Honda is the most reliable make on the market. Among the Toyotas, the Camry is the best all-around car for a moderate budget. These are reliable and usually ample for most people. The Corolla is smaller and uses less gas, and may be adequate for your needs. Lexus is more luxury and more expensive (they also use more gas), but they are more luxurious.
Honda Civic is the basic entry level car. The Accord is bigger but uses more gas and costs more money. (A bigger car may also be safer than a smaller car; the Corolla is one of the few smaller cars that did well in safety). These are the best choices for reliability as well.
Of course, it may be possible to get a decent used car these days. Look for a Toyota or a Honda certified pre-owned car (that way, you will be less likely to be buying someone else's lemon). These can save you thousands of dollars right off the bat. Pre-leased vehicles are your best bets, since the lease usually includes extra charges for abusive use. You will probably get more car for your money, but it will not be the latest technology. Certified pre-owned vehicles are also inspected for excessive wear and tear, as well as those lemons that occasionally turn up on even the best product assembly line.
As for snow traction, you should be looking first at the tires. Nothing beats a good set of snow tires for traction in winter. Traction control does help (and is available as an option on the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord's higher trim lines). However, without good tires, traction control is not worth a crap. Aside making sure you get appropriate tires for your conditions, they should not be too worn: half worn tires are more likely to give you traction problems than new ones. If the treads are worn to less than 2 mm, they are dangerous even in wet weather (hydroplaning). Tires that are this worn should be replaced; they should be replaced even before this for optimum performance in wet or snowy conditions.
I had a 2005 and 2006 Corolla and now I drive a 2007 Yaris, and I noticed this.
Corolla at 100 km/h......2350 RPM with the automatic transmission (perfect)
Yaris at 100 km/h.........2800 RPM with the manuaI transmission. This is unacceptable because it spins WAY too fast and it's annoying to hear the motor spin so fast at such a low speed.
The Corolla makes even 2 MPG better than the Yaris with the manual transmission on the highway.
Yaris is a little better in the city, but not much.
Corolla has 126 HP with a 1.8 liter engine , while Yaris has 106 HP with the 1.5 liter engine.
For $1200 more, I think you're better off with a Corolla.(basic model)
But if I wanted a new Corolla, I would wait for the 2009 redesigned model that will come out in early 2008.
Simon, I love my (2006) VW Jetta!
Lots of good suggestions - thanks!
Toyota seem to be universally well thought of (reflected in the JD Power rankings along with Honda) and Subaru do seem pretty good in the snow. I know Volvo are good too but they seem a tad expensive (and do I really want to be 'a volvo driver'? uurgh [shudder] LOL).
I would prefer to get something new than 2nd hand / pre-owned becauuse I really don't know much about cars and what to look for or what is and isn't a decent price over here so will probably be looking at leasing a new one.
The Yaris we tested was nice but it ends up at about $22k for a tiny car (when you add ABS) but maybe we should look at a biger model that may have more in the base spec?
