Car advice. New long commute

[Coronita]

[quote=gzz]

Hyundai Tucson?
Toyota Highlander?

Those sound very big for a solo commute.
They seem to be a waste of gas, and harder/less fun to drive.

The Highlander is the #1 mom-mobile in Rancho San Diego. I have seen three of them all parked next to each other in the grocery parking lot.

Some sharp large and semi-lux sedans that caught my eye on my commute:

Camry V6 TRD (301 HP!)

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (starts at only 28k)

Mazda6 (discontinued last year, but looked really nice when I was at the dealer)

The Toyota Avalon is nicer inside than entry-level BMW/Lexus/Mercedes. I have been driven in them in Uber and the back seat is huge too.[/quote]

Nothing is more tacky than a riced out Toyota Camry .. if it walks like a dog, talks like a duck… It’s still a duck. If you’re going that route, Scaredy might as well put spinners wheels on his Honda Accord, cut his springs to lower it, put in major off camber to lower it more, and slap a bunch of Vtec stickers on it too.

[img_assist|nid=27777|title=Yo|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=400|height=367]

[barnaby33]

Dude, we’re all standing around waiting for Rich to crunch the latest Case-Schiller numbers. What else do you want to talk about? Elon? Kan(Ye)? Tons of other places to do that.

Sorry there’s history here. Scardey is a shit stirer of the oh-so-nervous-kind. I just realized that he’s either not going to buy a car, or he’ll just buy the wrong one (with say the wrong color of vegan leather) then endlessly snipe about it.

Minivan is still the safest option to be un-cool, un-happy and reasonably safe.
Josh

[sdrealtor]

[quote=drboom][quote=barnaby33]Seriously, 3 pages for this thread? Just buy the damned mini van already![/quote]

Dude, we’re all standing around waiting for Rich to crunch the latest Case-Schiller numbers. What else do you want to talk about? Elon? Kan(Ye)? Tons of other places to do that.[/quote]

Case Shiller won’t tell you what happened until 5 months after it happened. I already told you. Spring 2022 gains erased. Prices off 15-20% from that peak that was only a moment in time

Now let’s focus on what’s truly important. #minivanlife

[Coronita]

[quote=barnaby33]

Dude, we’re all standing around waiting for Rich to crunch the latest Case-Schiller numbers. What else do you want to talk about? Elon? Kan(Ye)? Tons of other places to do that.

Sorry there’s history here. Scardey is a shit stirer of the oh-so-nervous-kind. I just realized that he’s either not going to buy a car, or he’ll just buy the wrong one (with say the wrong color of vegan leather) then endlessly snipe about it.

Minivan is still the safest option to be un-cool, un-happy and reasonably safe.
Josh[/quote]
You are so wrong. Minivans can be cool.

You can put a HKS supercharger in the Sienna and do gulfwing doors on it and air suspensions!!!!

Check out this cool video…

[drboom]

[quote=Coronita]
You are so wrong. Minivans can be cool.

You can put a HKS supercharger in the Sienna and do gulfwing doors on it and air suspensions!!!!

Check out this cool video…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOCK5_R1OcA%5B/quote%5D

Gross!

Now this is done properly (M-B R63):

The BMW X7 I drove for a week on a road trip was fun in its own cetacean way, I’ll admit. More generically, late model Pacficas are nice but I have a hard time staying awake when behind the wheel of one. Bo-ring.

But I’d still rather have a P100 Model X if I had to have a SUV/minibarge.

[Coronita]

I think the Mercedes AMG station wagon is way overdone.

X7, not a big fan of it.

[Coronita]

This is interesting.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/winter-coming-best-country-world-230000360.html

Switzerland is thinking of limiting EV car usage during the winter energy crunch.

[gzz]

[quote=Coronita]I think the Mercedes AMG station wagon is way overdone.

X7, not a big fan of it.[/quote]

The X7 is pretty in person. Someone near my office has a purple one. It must have sold poorly the first couple years, wikipedia says it hit dealerships in 3/2019 but I didn’t start noticing them until last year.

The fastest I have ever driven a car was my old boss’s E-Class wagon in Europe, about 140MPH.

It was an awkward boat driving in urban areas of Europe, but fun on the highways.

[Coronita]

Well since the gvwr of the x7 is over 6000lbs, it would qualify for section 179 full deduction. Unfortunately, the sienna is 5995…

[spdrun]

Got to love a law that encourages people to buy guzzling bloat barges 🙁

[svelte]

I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with the general consensus here. Unless you necessarily want one, I’m not going to recommend a minivan.

Here’s why:

1. Third Row: I don’t care if the third row is in a SUV or a minivan, it is awkward to get in and out of. We had our minivan for 6 years and I can probably count on my fingers the number of times we had people use the third row. In most situations people preferred to take two cars rather than stuff a few individuals in that third row. And getting seniors back there? Ain’t gonna happen. Their bodies don’t bend in the ways necessary for getting in and out of that row anymore.

2. Ease of entry: Take a look around – do you see old folks buying minivans or mid-sized SUVs? Answer: mid-sized SUVs! The reason is that in most they can just slide right into the seat…they don’t have to lower themselves down like a sedan or raise themselves up like a full-size SUV. In a mid-sized SUV, the ride height is often similar to a standing height.

3. View: I’m very perplexed by stating the view out of a minivan is better. What type of SUV are people driving that doesn’t have a large window adjacent to each seat?

4. Hauling: well this may be the one category where a minivan wins. Since you can remove the 3rd AND 2nd rows, you do end up with a huge space for bikes, lumber, whatever. We always have a pickup in our stable so this really wasn’t a feature we used often in our minivan. We removed the seats exactly ONCE – that was when two of my kids and I drove to nor cal to bring back a bed and other assorted furniture. We took out the 3rd row and one captain’s chair to make room. Worked out fine but I wouldn’t say one trip of that sort justified us owning a vehicle that could do that. We could have rented something for the weekend. If you WOULD use that feature more often, well maybe a minivan is for you.

5. Cleanability: Yes if you have folks leaving food wrappers and other trash in your car, then a minivan can be easier to clean, especially in the third row area. However, we don’t have that problem. The only “food” allowed in any of my vehicles is bottled water, period. If you’re gonna eat, you’re gonna take someone else’s car, not mine. Really the only cleaning I have to do is wiping down surfaces with a wet towel to get the dust and vacuum the carpet once or twice a year. That’s it.

6. Size. I found a minivan to drive like a large vehicle, especially when backing up. I was well aware I had a long, large mass behind me when I backed up. The same would be true with a large SUV for sure, but we own a mid-sized SUV right now (wife insisted on it) and it really doesn’t feel that big. It feels light, maneuverable, and easy to park. That’s why we just bought out the lease…as anti-SUV as I am, I found I enjoy this one so we are keeping it.

Bottom line: unless you would be needing to haul a massive amount of cargo inside and out of the elements on a semi-regular basis, I think a mid-sized SUV is a better choice. I would venture to guess that is why SUVs are so popular now while minivan sales have tapered off to a trickle.

Which mid-sized SUV is a matter of preference, you know what you like.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=barnaby33]

Dude, we’re all standing around waiting for Rich to crunch the latest Case-Schiller numbers. What else do you want to talk about? Elon? Kan(Ye)? Tons of other places to do that.

Sorry there’s history here. Scardey is a shit stirer of the oh-so-nervous-kind. I just realized that he’s either not going to buy a car, or he’ll just buy the wrong one (with say the wrong color of vegan leather) then endlessly snipe about it.

Minivan is still the safest option to be un-cool, un-happy and reasonably safe.
Josh[/quote]

Harsh, yet fair.

Escondido is offering leafs at MSRP, can’t quite pull the trigger. The do have low 72 month financing. Still…I hesitate. Termite problem…costly

[utcsox]

[quote=svelte]
Which mid-sized SUV is a matter of preference, you know what you like.[/quote]

From Car and Driver,

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15380025/best-small-compact-suv-truck/

You also attend San Diego International Auto (12/30-1/2) to check out and test drive cars.

[utcsox]

[quote=svelte]
Which mid-sized SUV is a matter of preference, you know what you like.[/quote]

From Car and Driver,

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15380025/best-small-compact-suv-truck/

You also attend San Diego International Auto (12/30-1/2) to check out and test drive cars.

[utcsox]

[quote=svelte]
Which mid-sized SUV is a matter of preference, you know what you like.[/quote]

From Car and Driver,

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15380025/best-small-compact-suv-truck/

You shall also attend San Diego International Auto (12/30-1/2) to check out and test drive cars.

[Author]

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