Just go buy any new Toyota you can afford and have years of trouble free driving. Or, if you want to be a baller, go buy a new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. This has the added benefit of telling cuck dudes you mean business and you could probably take his woman and kick his ass afterwards. Win win imho. I'll help you get a good deal if you give me a pair of your socks. Unwashed.
Don’t listen to @Swaye team 4Runner or GTFO. Years of trouble free driving with some tuff ness cool factor.
Only requirements I have so far are 1) it can make over mountain passes in the dead of winter 2) decent gas mileage 3) has Bluetooth connection capabilities.
1.) The list of cars that satisfies this requirement includes all of them. Mountain passes are either open or they're not. If it's rough, they require chains. If it's even rougher, they close them. I've never heard of a situation on I-90 where they say, "You can only drive on this pas with x amount of ride height and 4WD." The obsession with AWD around here is a bit silly to me. It's nice, but a seemingly little known fact is that it doesn't--at all--help you stop. Tires do, but people spend thousands extra to get an AWD vehicle and then run the stock shitty all-season radials year round. Best investment is to spend the $1000 in the first October/November you own a new vehicle to get a second set of wheels with some dedicated winter tires. Modern studless winter tires are absolutely amazing. I keep a running tab every winter because I'm a smug asshole: Vehicles in the ditch are overwhelmingly SUVs (particularly large ones) and trucks. A couple of years ago, during a decent winter storm, I was passing a line of about 50 cars on a straight stretch of Highway 20 because they were all driving like they'd never seen snow. About three cars into this, the guy in the Tundra took offense and sped up to try keeping in front. I had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid T-boning him as he spun a full 360 degrees and ended up in the ditch on the side of my lane. And I was in a RWD small car, but running Blizzaks on cheap steelies (best winter wheel if you're the function over form type).
AWD systems add weight and sap fuel efficiency. Winter tires are better. AWD and winter tires are better still but completely overkill 99.9% of the time unless you rally race in Michigan.
2.) If fuel economy is a concern, I'm assuming overall economy is as well. If you have access to charging, electrics are going to win the spreadsheet exercise 10 times out of 9. Unfortunately, Chevy's subsidies expired, so the Bolt is a lot more expensive than it was at first and not the value proposition that it used to be. The market is soon to be flooded with long range options from companies other than GM and Tesla, though, so there will be a lot of choice. Never having to stop at a gas station is fucking awesome, and spending less than $3 for a 70 mile round trip commute is awesomer still. If your workplace offers free charging, reduce that by half. Since you want to go long range (over the mountains), the only game in town currently are Tesla (too expensive to win on TCO), Chevy Bolt, and the sister Hyundai/Kia crossovers. Those last two would be very economical in the long run after federal rebate. There's also waiting for things coming very soon from VW, Ford, etc.
If gas is your thing, Mazda's lineup is probably the best bang for the buck in the automotive world. They look good, they're reliable, they're typically fun to drive, and their SkyActiv platform is incredibly fuel efficient for gas. I've owned a Mazda 3 and really liked it. My brother owns a current gen 3, and it's great. You can pick these things up used for a pretty good price and still pull off 40 mpg from a 2015 or newer. They're currently running 0% financing and no payment for 90 days, too, so that's pretty good.
3.) Is there anything that doesn't have standard bluetooth capability anymore? If so, that would be a serious mistake by that manufacturer.
Just go buy any new Toyota you can afford and have years of trouble free driving. Or, if you want to be a baller, go buy a new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. This has the added benefit of telling cuck dudes you mean business and you could probably take his woman and kick his ass afterwards. Win win imho. I'll help you get a good deal if you give me a pair of your socks. Unwashed.
😄
You know, I’ve always liked Rubicons. But a big part of that is because I’m a history noyd.
I really want to test drive one now.
Do it! You cannot go wrong with a Jeep. Go anywhere do anything.
Only requirements I have so far are 1) it can make over mountain passes in the dead of winter 2) decent gas mileage 3) has Bluetooth connection capabilities.
1.) The list of cars that satisfies this requirement includes all of them. Mountain passes are either open or they're not. If it's rough, they require chains. If it's even rougher, they close them. I've never heard of a situation on I-90 where they say, "You can only drive on this pas with x amount of ride height and 4WD." The obsession with AWD around here is a bit silly to me. It's nice, but a seemingly little known fact is that it doesn't--at all--help you stop. Tires do, but people spend thousands extra to get an AWD vehicle and then run the stock shitty all-season radials year round. Best investment is to spend the $1000 in the first October/November you own a new vehicle to get a second set of wheels with some dedicated winter tires. Modern studless winter tires are absolutely amazing. I keep a running tab every winter because I'm a smug asshole: Vehicles in the ditch are overwhelmingly SUVs (particularly large ones) and trucks. A couple of years ago, during a decent winter storm, I was passing a line of about 50 cars on a straight stretch of Highway 20 because they were all driving like they'd never seen snow. About three cars into this, the guy in the Tundra took offense and sped up to try keeping in front. I had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid T-boning him as he spun a full 360 degrees and ended up in the ditch on the side of my lane. And I was in a RWD small car, but running Blizzaks on cheap steelies (best winter wheel if you're the function over form type).
AWD systems add weight and sap fuel efficiency. Winter tires are better. AWD and winter tires are better still but completely overkill 99.9% of the time unless you rally race in Michigan.
2.) If fuel economy is a concern, I'm assuming overall economy is as well. If you have access to charging, electrics are going to win the spreadsheet exercise 10 times out of 9. Unfortunately, Chevy's subsidies expired, so the Bolt is a lot more expensive than it was at first and not the value proposition that it used to be. The market is soon to be flooded with long range options from companies other than GM and Tesla, though, so there will be a lot of choice. Never having to stop at a gas station is fucking awesome, and spending less than $3 for a 70 mile round trip commute is awesomer still. If your workplace offers free charging, reduce that by half. Since you want to go long range (over the mountains), the only game in town currently are Tesla (too expensive to win on TCO), Chevy Bolt, and the sister Hyundai/Kia crossovers. Those last two would be very economical in the long run after federal rebate. There's also waiting for things coming very soon from VW, Ford, etc.
If gas is your thing, Mazda's lineup is probably the best bang for the buck in the automotive world. They look good, they're reliable, they're typically fun to drive, and their SkyActiv platform is incredibly fuel efficient for gas. I've owned a Mazda 3 and really liked it. My brother owns a current gen 3, and it's great. You can pick these things up used for a pretty good price and still pull off 40 mpg from a 2015 or newer. They're currently running 0% financing and no payment for 90 days, too, so that's pretty good.
3.) Is there anything that doesn't have standard bluetooth capability anymore? If so, that would be a serious mistake by that manufacturer.
Winters tires make a huge difference and you’re right that AWD or 4WD doesn’t make you stop any quicker. But there are some all season tires out there - eg michelin Ltx M/s that are fucking great on snow and ice...not blizzak great but still good siping and tread pattern. I’ve driven in as much snow as any dude here and never have encountered a condition where I needed snow tires or studs with those Michelins and 4WD.
We like to lease cars on a 3 year cycle. That way they are always under warranty and have mostly all the new tech, safety, etc. The internet makes it fairly easy to shop, but I like to pick a dealer near home for convenience. I have not tried any of the online car buying services, but they look intriguing. I once used a car broker, Frank Guisness (former HUSKY Basketball legend), and ended up with a good deal and ease of shopping. He ded now tho. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/husky-basketball-great-frank-guisness-dies-at-87/
Do you haul around kid(s) or pet(s), or both? If so, a fold down 3 row seat is a good idea, so Highlander makes sense.
If not, you don't need a Highlander. Look at the RAV4 AWD Hybrid. Our Camry Hybrid has ~150k and all I've done is tires, oil, and the major services 30, 60, 90, 120k. It has never had a brake job tho due to the Hybrid system. Rock solid. Fuel efficient. Safe. Shitty in the rain and snow, even with good tires.
We have a Mazda CX5 that is great. Kinda sporty, safe, not as fuel efficient as you'd expect for a 4 banger. A good size without being cramped. Big enough for 4 adults to take to the mountains or peninsula for the weekend. The '20 has a turbo option. The lease is up in October so will likely replace it with a new one.
New Ford Bronco is coming out soon. Lot of rave reviews for them already. Jeep is cramming a 392 V8 w/450 hp in the Wrangler, but I guess you care about mpg for some reason even though that's one of the most overrated things to consider when buying a car, IMO.
If you buy a Japanese car it means you don't really care about cars.
Just go buy any new Toyota you can afford and have years of trouble free driving. Or, if you want to be a baller, go buy a new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. This has the added benefit of telling cuck dudes you mean business and you could probably take his woman and kick his ass afterwards. Win win imho. I'll help you get a good deal if you give me a pair of your socks. Unwashed.
Don’t listen to @Swaye team 4Runner or GTFO. Years of trouble free driving with some tuff ness cool factor.
4Runner is an ancient platform at this point. New car pricing for something that's long in the tooth. I would not buy a 2020 4Runner because an all-new version is replacing it in a year. That said, the TRD package in the desert sand color looks great.
We like to lease cars on a 3 year cycle. That way they are always under warranty and have mostly all the new tech, safety, etc. The internet makes it fairly easy to shop, but I like to pick a dealer near home for convenience. I have not tried any of the online car buying services, but they look intriguing. I once used a car broker, Frank Guisness (former HUSKY Basketball legend), and ended up with a good deal and ease of shopping. He ded now tho. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/husky-basketball-great-frank-guisness-dies-at-87/
Do you haul around kid(s) or pet(s), or both? If so, a fold down 3 row seat is a good idea, so Highlander makes sense.
If not, you don't need a Highlander. Look at the RAV4 AWD Hybrid. Our Camry Hybrid has ~150k and all I've done is tires, oil, and the major services 30, 60, 90, 120k. It has never had a brake job tho due to the Hybrid system. Rock solid. Fuel efficient. Safe. Shitty in the rain and snow, even with good tires.
We have a Mazda CX5 that is great. Kinda sporty, safe, not as fuel efficient as you'd expect for a 4 banger. A good size without being cramped. Big enough for 4 adults to take to the mountains or peninsula for the weekend. The '20 has a turbo option. The lease is up in October so will likely replace it with a new one.
In terms of the experience we just got a new one. We've had 1 leased and 1 owned for several years at this point. Owned one I drive and is an old beat up VW which I will drive til it dies. 6 years ago we flipped the leased one from Infiniti to BMW. My wife husband like thes 3 series but wants Xdrive and a bunch of other features. Leasing has been decent since it covers all maintenance, as we've thus far stuck to loaner cars with a few more miles on them, which knocks the price down.
With the old one's lease ending my wife basically went searching on local dealerships looking for what would meet her requirements. Once she found one she liked she emailed and negotiated that way, eventually getting the price she wanted for the one she preferred. They tried to claim production had slowed due to COVID so there was little inventory but they came down anyway. Ended up with what I think is a pretty good deal.
New Ford Bronco is coming out soon. Lot of rave reviews for them already. Jeep is cramming a 392 V8 w/450 hp in the Wrangler, but I guess you care about mpg for some reason even though that's one of the most overrated things to consider when buying a car, IMO.
If you buy a Japanese car it means you don't really care about cars.
New Ford Bronco is coming out soon. Lot of rave reviews for them already. Jeep is cramming a 392 V8 w/450 hp in the Wrangler, but I guess you care about mpg for some reason even though that's one of the most overrated things to consider when buying a car, IMO.
If you buy a Japanese car it means you don't really care about cars.
Exactly
Cars haven't been the same since my modified 64 Nova died
We like to lease cars on a 3 year cycle. That way they are always under warranty and have mostly all the new tech, safety, etc. The internet makes it fairly easy to shop, but I like to pick a dealer near home for convenience. I have not tried any of the online car buying services, but they look intriguing. I once used a car broker, Frank Guisness (former HUSKY Basketball legend), and ended up with a good deal and ease of shopping. He ded now tho. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/husky-basketball-great-frank-guisness-dies-at-87/
Do you haul around kid(s) or pet(s), or both? If so, a fold down 3 row seat is a good idea, so Highlander makes sense.
If not, you don't need a Highlander. Look at the RAV4 AWD Hybrid. Our Camry Hybrid has ~150k and all I've done is tires, oil, and the major services 30, 60, 90, 120k. It has never had a brake job tho due to the Hybrid system. Rock solid. Fuel efficient. Safe. Shitty in the rain and snow, even with good tires.
We have a Mazda CX5 that is great. Kinda sporty, safe, not as fuel efficient as you'd expect for a 4 banger. A good size without being cramped. Big enough for 4 adults to take to the mountains or peninsula for the weekend. The '20 has a turbo option. The lease is up in October so will likely replace it with a new one.
99% sure the RAV4 Hybrid has the same powertrain (engine, motors, battery) that the Prius and Camry Hybrids have. Solid, proven tech.
We like to lease cars on a 3 year cycle. That way they are always under warranty and have mostly all the new tech, safety, etc. The internet makes it fairly easy to shop, but I like to pick a dealer near home for convenience. I have not tried any of the online car buying services, but they look intriguing. I once used a car broker, Frank Guisness (former HUSKY Basketball legend), and ended up with a good deal and ease of shopping. He ded now tho. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/husky-basketball-great-frank-guisness-dies-at-87/
Do you haul around kid(s) or pet(s), or both? If so, a fold down 3 row seat is a good idea, so Highlander makes sense.
If not, you don't need a Highlander. Look at the RAV4 AWD Hybrid. Our Camry Hybrid has ~150k and all I've done is tires, oil, and the major services 30, 60, 90, 120k. It has never had a brake job tho due to the Hybrid system. Rock solid. Fuel efficient. Safe. Shitty in the rain and snow, even with good tires.
We have a Mazda CX5 that is great. Kinda sporty, safe, not as fuel efficient as you'd expect for a 4 banger. A good size without being cramped. Big enough for 4 adults to take to the mountains or peninsula for the weekend. The '20 has a turbo option. The lease is up in October so will likely replace it with a new one.
99% sure the RAV4 Hybrid has the same powertrain (engine, motors, battery) that the Prius and Camry Hybrids have. Solid, proven tech.
Oh, and if you are going to buy via finance, get pre-approved loan from your bank/CU so you have financing ready to go. A lot of manufacturers are offering 0% loans or if not, better rates than your bank. But being pre-approved gives you more flexibility. And get a ball park of the trade-in value of your Honda before going in.
Now that I think about it - we're a total Nip/Nap family: Mazda CX9, Toyota Highlander and Nissan Titan.
USA! USA! USA!
The CX9 is the best snow car I've ever driven. Better than der Audis or BMWs we've owned and definitely better than any American rides like the Explorer or Jeep.
Mrs. Throbber v2.0 looked cute in her Beamer but that car was shit in the snow.
Comments
AWD systems add weight and sap fuel efficiency. Winter tires are better. AWD and winter tires are better still but completely overkill 99.9% of the time unless you rally race in Michigan.
2.) If fuel economy is a concern, I'm assuming overall economy is as well. If you have access to charging, electrics are going to win the spreadsheet exercise 10 times out of 9. Unfortunately, Chevy's subsidies expired, so the Bolt is a lot more expensive than it was at first and not the value proposition that it used to be. The market is soon to be flooded with long range options from companies other than GM and Tesla, though, so there will be a lot of choice. Never having to stop at a gas station is fucking awesome, and spending less than $3 for a 70 mile round trip commute is awesomer still. If your workplace offers free charging, reduce that by half. Since you want to go long range (over the mountains), the only game in town currently are Tesla (too expensive to win on TCO), Chevy Bolt, and the sister Hyundai/Kia crossovers. Those last two would be very economical in the long run after federal rebate. There's also waiting for things coming very soon from VW, Ford, etc.
If gas is your thing, Mazda's lineup is probably the best bang for the buck in the automotive world. They look good, they're reliable, they're typically fun to drive, and their SkyActiv platform is incredibly fuel efficient for gas. I've owned a Mazda 3 and really liked it. My brother owns a current gen 3, and it's great. You can pick these things up used for a pretty good price and still pull off 40 mpg from a 2015 or newer. They're currently running 0% financing and no payment for 90 days, too, so that's pretty good.
3.) Is there anything that doesn't have standard bluetooth capability anymore? If so, that would be a serious mistake by that manufacturer.
I trust Tom McParland; car buying expert, lots of good advice here: https://automatchconsulting.com/advice/
I'm a fan of Toyota and Mazda too.
Do you haul around kid(s) or pet(s), or both? If so, a fold down 3 row seat is a good idea, so Highlander makes sense.
If not, you don't need a Highlander. Look at the RAV4 AWD Hybrid. Our Camry Hybrid has ~150k and all I've done is tires, oil, and the major services 30, 60, 90, 120k. It has never had a brake job tho due to the Hybrid system. Rock solid. Fuel efficient. Safe. Shitty in the rain and snow, even with good tires.
We have a Mazda CX5 that is great. Kinda sporty, safe, not as fuel efficient as you'd expect for a 4 banger. A good size without being cramped. Big enough for 4 adults to take to the mountains or peninsula for the weekend. The '20 has a turbo option. The lease is up in October so will likely replace it with a new one.
If you buy a Japanese car it means you don't really care about cars.
wifehusband like thes 3 series but wants Xdrive and a bunch of other features. Leasing has been decent since it covers all maintenance, as we've thus far stuck to loaner cars with a few more miles on them, which knocks the price down.With the old one's lease ending my wife basically went searching on local dealerships looking for what would meet her requirements. Once she found one she liked she emailed and negotiated that way, eventually getting the price she wanted for the one she preferred. They tried to claim production had slowed due to COVID so there was little inventory but they came down anyway. Ended up with what I think is a pretty good deal.
Cars haven't been the same since my modified 64 Nova died
Nissan gives me 40 mpg reliability
USA! USA! USA!
The CX9 is the best snow car I've ever driven. Better than der Audis or BMWs we've owned and definitely better than any American rides like the Explorer or Jeep.
Mrs. Throbber v2.0 looked cute in her Beamer but that car was shit in the snow.