How much is your gas?

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Pr. Jae said:
Our next vehicle is going to be some kind of crossover-SUV thing - possibly a Tucson.
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As mentioned above, I have a Honda CR-V (which compete with the Tucson) and while I might go the CUV/SUV route again, likely I wouldn't get another CR-V. As I said, it's a nice vehicle in many regards but it's positively anemic on the freeways and that's something to check with any compact crossover or sport ute you look at because I hear it's endemic in the smaller ones. When you test drive it, get it out on a highway and make sure you've got decent acceleration for passing. OTOH, if it is mostly for city or rural driving, then maybe that isn't much of an issue.

The one SUV I've driven that I loved as a vehicle to drive was the Chevy Equinox (I had one as my rental when we toured the national parks in Wyoming) but it may be a bit big for what you'd be after. It started as a compact SUV but the current one that I drove is more of a mid-size. Best of all, it's Canadian-built, just down the road from me in Ingersoll.
 
Filled up for 99.9 at the Vaughan Costco yesterday. A few years ago, 99.9 felt like a ripoff. Yesterday, it felt like I was stealing gas. Comparatively, anyway.

My dad is selling his 05 4Runner. I might have to take it off his hands if gas stays reasonable. That thing is a beast in the winter, but our 05 X-Trail is almost as good in snow, and about 2L/100km better.
 
Mendalla said:
As mentioned above, I have a Honda CR-V (which compete with the Tucson) and while I might go the CUV/SUV route again, likely I wouldn't get another CR-V. As I said, it's a nice vehicle in many regards but it's positively anemic on the freeways and that's something to check with any compact crossover or sport ute you look at because I hear it's endemic in the smaller ones. When you test drive it, get it out on a highway and make sure you've got decent acceleration for passing. OTOH, if it is mostly for city or rural driving, then maybe that isn't much of an issue.

The one SUV I've driven that I loved as a vehicle to drive was the Chevy Equinox (I had one as my rental when we toured the national parks in Wyoming) but it may be a bit big for what you'd be after. It started as a compact SUV but the current one that I drove is more of a mid-size. Best of all, it's Canadian-built, just down the road from me in Ingersoll.
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Thank you for your insights Mendalla. I'll pass them on to my wife. She and I have a deal - when we buy a vehicle - she gets to pick the model - I get to choose the colour.
 
With the CR-V, it came down to a family vote. I wanted an Accord EX-V6 (I really prefer a good sedan to a truck and the '06 Accord with the V6 motor was an excellent sedan) and the other two wanted the CR-V (the plows basically ignore our street so the Mrs. M wanted the all-wheel drive) so I lost:(.

Little M regrets it now that he knows more about cars but I've kind of mellowed on the CR-V. It may be a bit of a pig to drive compared to the Civic or Accord but we've leveraged it's substantial (for its size) cargo space more than few times so I've come to appreciate that.
 
People love their SUVs. The fact is, a good FWD sedan with snow tires will get out of 95% of the driveways a comparable SUV with snow tires can get out of, and more driveways than a small SUV with all seasons. Plus, the sedan will be more stable on the highway because its centre of gravity is lower (which also makes it more pleasing to drive), and use less fuel doing it because it weighs less and pushes less air. If you need more space, get a hatch or a wagon.

Where the SUV demonstrates its value is rural winter driving and busting through snow drifts and windrows. But without snow tires, even that is pointless.

Here north of Vaughan, I'm surrounded by X5s, Cayennes, and Range Rovers. If they don't have snow tires, my little fwd TSX will drive circles around them in the snow. They'd be better off with a 5-series, Panamera, or a Jag for similar or less money.

If you like driving SUVs and you don't use them for extreme road conditions or off road, then what you're really saying is that you don't like driving, but you do like the image of being an SUV driver.

Jeremy Clarkson made an interesting observation on Top Gear once, that people who drive cars that are awful to drive, clearly don't care about driving and are not interested in driving. People who aren't interested in a skill tend not to be very good at it. Therefore, people who buy awful vehicles to drive should have their licences taken away.
 
According to online, Costco is at 81.9 here. If you go looking, it's fairly easy to find under 85, although the closest ones to me are still over that.
 
chansen said:
People love their SUVs. The fact is, a good FWD sedan with snow tires will get out of 95% of the driveways a comparable SUV with snow tires can get out of, and more driveways than a small SUV with all seasons. Plus, the sedan will be more stable on the highway because its centre of gravity is lower (which also makes it more pleasing to drive), and use less fuel doing it because it weighs less and pushes less air. If you need more space, get a hatch or a wagon.
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My preferred next car would, in fact, be something like a Mazda3 or even a Mazda5 (or similar from another company). I much prefer a hatch to a trunk at this point save that trunks are, strictly speaking, a bit more secure. It irks me to no end that Honda doesn't have a decent hatch here above the Fit (which is too small for some of my needs). A hatchback Civic or a return of the Accord wagon would be a welcome development (the Crosstour does not count since it was more of a crossover based on the Accord than a proper Accord wagon). The fact that Europe still gets hatchback Civics just rubs it in.

If I found a decent wagon for a decent price, I'd consider it. The problem with wagons is that there aren't many around any more. Minivans and SUV/CUVs have kind of taken over the family car with cargo space niche. Europe is better off that way and a few of the European wagons are leaking over here (I think Mercedes has a new C-class wagon on the way for North America).

chansen said:
Jeremy Clarkson made an interesting observation on Top Gear once, that people who drive cars that are awful to drive, clearly don't care about driving and are not interested in driving. People who aren't interested in a skill tend not to be very good at it. Therefore, people who buy awful vehicles to drive should have their licences taken away.
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I think Little M has seen that episode. I'm pretty sure I remember that quote. He's not exactly a "Clarksonite" but he does agree with Jeremy a lot when Jeremy sticks to cars and stays out of things like politics.
 
Mendalla said:
My preferred next car would, in fact, be something like a Mazda3 or even a Mazda5 (or similar from another company). I much prefer a hatch to a trunk at this point save that trunks are, strictly speaking, a bit more secure. It irks me to no end that Honda doesn't have a decent hatch here above the Fit (which is too small for some of my needs). A hatchback Civic or a return of the Accord wagon would be a welcome development (the Crosstour does not count since it was more of a crossover based on the Accord than a proper Accord wagon). The fact that Europe still gets hatchback Civics just rubs it in.

If I found a decent wagon for a decent price, I'd consider it. The problem with wagons is that there aren't many around any more. Minivans and SUV/CUVs have kind of taken over the family car with cargo space niche. Europe is better off that way and a few of the European wagons are leaking over here (I think Mercedes has a new C-class wagon on the way for North America).
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I agree that wagons and hatches are becoming harder to find, and it's because the damn SUV is so popular. Companies that make them are not bringing them to Canada because we all want SUVs and they can't be bothered to bring in vehicles that will have such a limited appeal and sales numbers.

Mendalla said:
I think Little M has seen that episode. I'm pretty sure I remember that quote. He's not exactly a "Clarksonite" but he does agree with Jeremy a lot when Jeremy sticks to cars and stays out of things like politics.
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I'm similar. I think he's hilarious, and all the butthurt over his insults is completely over-the-top.
 
Seems my TSX is one of the few Honda made vehicles that has decent airbags.

Now, my electronic control module might rust and cause the vehicle to stall if it fails while I'm driving, which will surely result in multiple deaths, or more likely, elicit a few swear words as the car fails to start one morning.
 
my husband loved his jeep Cherokee he bought in '87. he replaced it about 10 years later with another one, and kept it going for a long long time. Perfect for the kind of outdoor work/photography that he does.

He bought a Volvo 90 recently and is happy with it but...he would have loved the base old jeep Cherokee style to be back.
 
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I'm going to start putting liquified dinosaur on my cereal in the morning.

Oh, and we did take over my parent's 4Runner. It's a beast in the winter, and gas mileage isn't as bad as you would expect in the summer - around 13 or 14L/100km.

The plan is keep it a year or two, then get a new vehicle to replace it once we're both working. Maybe wait longer if better fuel options are just around the corner. A good mid-sized diesel SUV is what I'm thinking, but the diesels are few and far between, and command a hefty premium at the moment (besides mostly being BMWs and Mercs and Audis), that negates the cost savings of diesel, if not the environmental footprint.
 
Here in Belleville, the lowest I've seen this week is 86.6 per lt. In the Mohawk Territory, Tyendinaga, I've filled up my car at 80.9.
 
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