Your Best Vehicle (Was: Your Best SUV)

[Roger Johnson]

So I just bought my new Miata, but I still feel I want to buy another car. I know it will be a couple of years later. But it never hurts to plan ahead, even far ahead.

I think I like SUV, because:

1) sedan/coupe/wagon are too boring, they can be very expenisve, but when you look at them from 100 feet away, there is no difference;

2) mini-van/van are boring too. they are practical, but they are boring;

3) trucks are useful sometimes, but not all the time, you may not need it for years;

That leaves SUV probably the only choice.

A couple of years down the road, I think I am looking for a large/nice one:

1) Range rover


2) Hummer II


3) Toyota Land cuiser


4) Lexus LX470


5) Toyota Sequoia


I know Lexus LX470 and Toyota Land Cruiser are pretty much the same.
[ August 31, 2005: Message edited by: Roger Johnson ]

[Ashok Mash]

I wouldn't buy a SUV even if I could afford one, but if I were to pick one for free, from the limited number of SUVs available here in Europe, I would go for a 2005 VW Touareg. Here's a pic:

[Gregg Bolinger]

I won't ever buy an SUV. They aren't really built for what they were envisioned for and people still buy them thinking they are good all around vehicles for any kind of element.

Give me a duel cab V8 truck anyday over an SUV. SUV's are for soccer moms who think they are too good for a minivan.

[Roger Johnson]

looks too "wagon" to me.

Originally posted by Ashok Mash:
I wouldn't buy a SUV even if I could afford one, but if I were to pick one for free, from the limited number of SUVs available here in Europe, I would go for a 2005 VW Touareg. Here's a pic:

[Michael Ernest]

I have a 2005 Land Cruiser; I'd be a lot happier if the mileage were close to 25 mpg. But it's a nice ride. I reallllly notice the difference when I rent cars on business trips: there are a LOT of rattles and groans I never heard before.

I agree with Gregg, not nearly as many people need an SUV as want one, including me. Still, they are nice to drive, and if you spend real time in a car (like commuting in California), making the ride easy and comfortable is a big deal.

A buddy of mine has the Lexus, which I have ridden in plenty. I like mine better.

[Anand Prabhu]

Sorry for being off-topic a bit. Though I am familiar with the different types of commercial vehicles, how does one define precisely sedan, coupe, wagon, suv, truck, min-van, cross-over etc. I can recognize them when I see them but what sets them apart, in terms of market segmentation, style, size etc. A while ago, I was trying to research some definitions from websites but they started getting very technical. Anyone who can define these in layman terms?

[Roger Johnson]

in term of apperance, Hummer H2 is easily the #1 among these 5 SUV, maybe it is just me.

but about the engineering, it is probably between range rover and land cruiser/lexus. land cruiser is famous for reliability.

i remember reading a car magzine, when asked what car does he want to cross antarctica continent, a explorer said :"a land cruiser".

probably the same thing when crossing sahara desert.

[Ashok Mash]

Originally posted by Roger Johnson:
looks too "wagon" to me.

Well, what do you expect, its a VW!! But the reviews are good, better handling than BMW X5, and looks good in real - way better than the BMW X5 and a bit like Porsche Cayenne (not sure if thats a good thing to be honest), and at around �40K, its not nearly as expensive as a Lexus(>�70K), BMW (>�80k) or Cayenne (>�100K)!!

[Roger Johnson]

i doubt you can do serious off road in it, the ground clearance is a bit too low to me.

Originally posted by Ashok Mash:


Well, what do you expect, its a VW!! But the reviews are good, better handling than BMW X5, and looks good in real - way better than the BMW X5 and a bit like Porsche Cayenne (not sure if thats a good thing to be honest), and at around �40K, its not nearly as expensive as a Lexus(>�70K), BMW (>�80k) or Cayenne (>�100K)!!

[Kishore Dandu]

Originally posted by Ashok Mash:


a bit like Porsche Cayenne

As I heard, Cayenne & Touareg share the same engine and Chassis. That could be why they look the same

[Jesse Torres]

Originally posted by Gregg Bolinger:


SUV's are for soccer moms who think they are too good for a minivan.

I couldn�t agree with you anymore!

[Ryan McGuire]

Originally posted by Roger Johnson:
i doubt you can do serious off road in it, the ground clearance is a bit too low to me.

Do you want an SUV so you can go off-raoding, or do you want to go off-roading so that you can rationalize an SUV?

[Gregg Bolinger]

Originally posted by Ryan McGuire:


Do you want an SUV so you can go off-raoding, or do you want to go off-roading so that you can rationalize an SUV?

I think that everyone that owns an SUV thinks they can go offroading. And that is a problem. SUV seems a bit to general for the differnt types being made. The only thing Utility about them is cargo space. The wheel base is too narrow on most (hummer excluded) for even light offroading. Not to mention the suspension and tires that typically come stock are for smooth road travel.

[Roger Johnson]

some vehicles are off road proved. such as: jeep, hummer, Land cruiser

[Gregg Bolinger]

That's what the commercials say. What they fail to say or say in fine print that no one bothers to read is that you have to buy the car with an offroad package. Typically, stock, off the lot SUV's are just made for street travel.

[Roger Johnson]

Believe me or not, i was trying to talk others into buying a truck a while back. it all started with a huge moving job, i was bothered by not having a pick-up. i look up in the local newspaper, tried to find an used pickup. then i found they are very pricy, compared to sedan. you will find a used sedan with less than 5 years old, in good condition, for ~$5,000. but you won't find a 5-year-old truck for that much.

Originally posted by Gregg Bolinger:
Give me a duel cab V8 truck anyday over an SUV. SUV's are for soccer moms who think they are too good for a minivan.

[Ashok Mash]

Originally posted by Roger Johnson:
i doubt you can do serious off road in it, the ground clearance is a bit too low to me.

I am not trying to sell you a VW or anything, but while googling about the similarities with Cayenne and Touareg (Kishore was spot on - the only difference is the styling and the badge), I came across this link and it claims it has a better road clearance than a Hummer!!

Offroad with VW Touareg
[ September 01, 2005: Message edited by: Ashok Mash ]

[Stan James]

I like the new Dennis Leary Coors Light commercial ... what would be more refreshing? If all the people with off-road vehicles GOT OFF THE ROAD!

Subaru calls my little Impreza wagon an SUV, but it's car based, not truck based so I just call it an AWD wagon. I love the visibility, tight maneuvering and the AWD on slick days. We had a slushy day up where I work and going home through some fancy neighborhoods I was tickled to see the MBs and BMWs crabbing up the hills or parked waiting for things to clear. I never slipped the least bit. But it's a dog for acceleration. Maybe a WRX next time.

[peter wooster]

Originally posted by Roger Johnson:
So I just bought my new Miata, but I still feel I want to buy another car. I know it will be a couple of years later. But it never hurts to plan ahead, even far ahead.

I think I like SUV, because:

You must be joking, I'd take two Miatae over one SUV of any type anytime. These vehicles are gross polluters and consumers of resources, they show that their owners have little concern for the needs of others. I just hope that Katrina blows a few more of them off the roads and out of my way.

Where I live, they are mostly driven by the same sort of over the hill, 60 something, Buick drivers that used to drive the two ton land yachts. In '74 those got the boot. The best way to qualify for an SUV is to have your last child move out of the house, so your wife doesn't have to drive her to soccer anymore.

As one cartoon showing two cars said "While Europe got Smart, America got Dumb and Hummer".

[Roger Nelson]

Are'nt people excited about getting hybrid vehicles? I would expect everyone to be giving hybrids a thought as their next car.
Though it may be priced a bit higher, it should be fine with the tax incentive, and price gains obtained by reduced fuel usage.
Other than saving money on gas, the best part of it is reducicng environment pollution.
I believe one should go for hybrids ,thereby making the car manufactures to come up with better quality hybrids.
And one should build up the hybrid propoganda, probably design T-shirts "GO HYBRID" :-)

[Stan James]

I'm delighted that hybrids are getting more interest. Not the hybrid SUV that impoves mileage from 13 to 16 either. I'd love to see Americans move to smaller sensible cars. I used to drive a 2-seater and smugly thought nobody should haul more cast iron and sheet metal along with them than I did, but it didn't feel safe among the trucks. So sad I had to give it up.

[Roger Chung-Wee]

It's not generally known that the safety record of these vehicles is poor. The Top Gear TV programme in the UK bought a Land Rover, fitted it with a roll bar and got a stunt driver to sharply turn the steering wheel at only 45mph. The vehicle rolled over, something just about every regular car won't. Without the roll bar, the driver might have been killed. The problem is the high centre of gravity which is typical of these off-road vehicles.

[john wesley]

Hybrid: Don�t know why sensible things are always unpopular !!?!

http://www.hybridcars.com/
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/24/1343231
[ September 05, 2005: Message edited by: john wesley ]

[Roger Johnson]

i guess what i am trying to get is the car philosophy -- what is the logic you want to have that car, or those 2 cars.

i know there is no logic when you are on a tight budget. i bought my 1st car for $900, from an Iranian visiting scholar. it is a 12-year-old sky blue toyota camry. it is drivable, but had: pass-due registration, some battery problem, break light not working, driver side window problem, broken wind shield, baby once on board w/o diaper, ... that is about it. I had a minor accident, in a snowing night, when breaking, i lost control, hit freeway divider, turned 360 degree and stopped in the middle of interstate freeway, fortunately there was no car behind.

[Roger Chung-Wee]

There is often no logic when it comes to cars. Even rational people - and I like to think of myself as such - do things that Mr Spock would disaprove of.

Earlier this year, my car was written off when a van ran into the back of it. Now, I didn't have to buy another car, I can sort of get around by using public transport. But I finally bought a a BMW - it's an E36 (a 318iS with a 4-cylinder 140bhp engine). It's the most powerful of that model's 4-cylinder range. But I don't need a 140bhp car. The rational thing to have done would have been to buy a cheap 75bhp runabout from a maker like Toyota, Honda, Renault, FIAT, Peugot, etc. But I bought the bimmer and I love it.

[Ashok Mash]

TopGear is brilliant, just like Terminator; Spiderman and Batman movies are � just for boys like their toys. For everyday Joe Average, the stuff they come up is absolutely useless. Last week a stand-up comedian was commenting on them as TopGear is very useful if you live at one end of a disused runway, and you work at the other end, and you can leave home only seven seconds before you are supposed to start work!

[Roger Johnson]

4-cylinder 140bhp engine? where are you?

my 2005 ms miata has 1.8L I4, 16 valve, 178@6000hp, it only weighs 2529 Ib.

my wrangler has 4.0L I6, 12 valve, 190@4600hp.

i certainly has no problem to use a 140 hp engine!

Originally posted by Roger Chung-Wee:
There is often no logic when it comes to cars. Even rational people - and I like to think of myself as such - do things that Mr Spock would disaprove of.

Earlier this year, my car was written off when a van ran into the back of it. Now, I didn't have to buy another car, I can sort of get around by using public transport. But I finally bought a a BMW - it's an E36 (a 318iS with a 4-cylinder 140bhp engine). It's the most powerful of that model's 4-cylinder range. But I don't need a 140bhp car. The rational thing to have done would have been to buy a cheap 75bhp runabout from a maker like Toyota, Honda, Renault, FIAT, Peugot, etc. But I bought the bimmer and I love it.

[Roger Johnson]

after quite a lot of thought, i think i like my next car to be Nissan 350Z Roadster (MSRP: $34,450)



The logic is:
1) it is just enough for summer daily commute, and other daily activity;
2) it is a japanese car, so it is more reliable; and it is cheaper than a german car with same setting (if you go to walmart for household staff, you should really buy a japanese car);
3) edmunds says it is top 10 convertible.

that leaves all the the winter driving to jeep wrangler again.

i will probablly still get a


but if i keep the miata
click it!

i may get a

[ September 06, 2005: Message edited by: Roger Johnson ]

[Roger Johnson]

any Subaru owner (present/past) here? could you tell what is special about it?

today when i walked to building from parking lot, i saw 6~7 subaru on a stretch, how could people like subaru this much? my ex girlfriend also drove a subaru before.

i am biased against subaru since the beginning.

[peter wooster]

any Subaru owner (present/past) here? could you tell what is special about it?

today when i walked to building from parking lot, i saw 6~7 subaru on a stretch, how could people like subaru this much? my ex girlfriend also drove a subaru before.

i am biased against subaru since the beginning.

I don't own one, but my brother did and his son crashed it on an expressway and was able to walk away from the accident. They do most of the good stuff that sputes do without all the bad stuff. No tendency to roll over, not big guzzlers, no bad attitude on the driver's part. They were one of the few companies that continued to build station wagons at a time when those were very uncool, now the sputes are starting to morph into reborn wagons.

[Ganpi Srinivasan]

To Ashok Mash,
VW SUV has been a mahjor flop in the US since it has lots of quality issues. Also there are more nicer SUVs in the market for the amount of money u wud be shelling for the Touareg. VW used to be a good brand but I do not think it is better than a BMW.

Again, this is MHO.

P.S: I own a 04 Jetta and i luv it