If you were in the market for a sedan

[Podunkadunk]

That was an interesting article. I would have never thought of Nissan/Mercury teaming up for anything and even a link to a well respected source would have been difficult for me to believe that Toyota would team with an American company in any way.

Thanks!

Oh, about Consumer Reports. I use them, probably isn't for everyone, but I like reading an unbiased source's comments on everything from vacuum's to cars. I like to be at least somewhat educated on what I'm spending my 100.00 on, or my 30k on. Before I began using Consumer Reports, I would read up on a vehicle online...I found a lot of bias...people are reluctant to write that they bought a piece of crap vehicle. I don't know...each to their own.

Podunk

 

[jdbower]

even a link to a well respected source would have been difficult for me to believe that Toyota would team with an American company in any way.

Actually...

 

[Podunkadunk]

Actually...

 

[jwstewar]

The Chevy Nova back in the mid to late 80's was a Toyota Corolla with a bowtie on the grill. If you looked under the hood most of the parts even said Toyota on them.

 

[dbdartman]

Thank you, JD. It was late yesterday afternoon when I realized Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager were the names I couldn't think of.

Podunk, if CR can give such different results testing the exact same vehicles, what makes you think they are "unbiased?" My personal opinion is that they are quite unbiased, as long as they are testing an imported vehicle! When it comes to (or came to) domestically produced cars & trucks, it seems they couldn't bash them hard or often enough, & about the most ridiculous things too, like cup holders. Since I can't trust their car reports to be unbiased, I can't trust ANY of their reports. That's not to say their reports are TOTALLY useless. I'll look at one occasionally, but I'll take anything they have to say with a little more than a grain of salt.

[edit] I think it would be quite interesting if someone could find a CR report on the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix twins. Who's willing to bet they have more good things to say about the Toyota then the Pontiac? I am!!!!

 

[dmccarty]

I don't trust anything CR says. They did the same hatchet job on the Chrysler Laser, Mitusbushi Eclipse, and the Eagle Talon in the 80s. All cars made in the same plant in Normal , Ill. The US badged cars where junk while the Mitusbushi was great and problem free.

Later,
Dan

 

[Wesdor]

I end up renting a car quite often and have found several to be worth a closer look if you are looking to purchase.

Tops on my list of cars I have rented is the Nissan Altima - drove it for about 500 miles, got upper 20s for mileage and found it to be smooth riding and quiet.

Next (but not in rank order) would be a Ford Fusion, or Chevy Malibu.

I haven't driven the Subaru, but have heard great things about it from our oldest son. He just bought a new car and gave serious consideration to the Subaru, but in the end decided to go with a BMW.

There are lots of great cars out there - do some research on your local dealer. That is a big part of any car purchase to me.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I don't have any experience with cars as my last car was 1986 Ford Tempo from when I was in high school. However, if you are interested in a small SUV the Ford Escape is a fun little SUV. Ours has the 4 cylinder with AWD and it handles snow great. It is a lot of fun to drive even being a 4 cylinder. The back seat has decent room for a 6' tall guy but you will only fit two adults back there. It does get good mileage (Ford list it as 24mpg for our setup) but I have never checked it to see the actual mileage. So far we have not had any problems with it. Some Walmart shopper decided to slam his door into it when it was a month old but that was to be expected.

 

[InlineDieselFan]

Well RaT, you have many to choose from I'll give a few opinions shortly. But I think the most important thing is a good 5 star crash safety rating for all of the people in the car, and your comfort as all of our bodies are a bit different.

Gas milage is important but do not let that be a big swaying factor. All of the cars that you are looking at in the same class will only be a few mpg different. You are not comparing a Ferrari at 8mpg to a Toyota Hydrid at 50 mpg. You are comparing mid-size to mid-size and all get about 30-35 mpg. Go to the next bigger class and you drop just a bit.

With all of that said, we have a 2004 Honda Accord it has 115,000 and not one problem. But we just do not like it, neither of us are comfortable for more than a two hour drive. That 20-30 minute test drive was fine. Some creature comfort things we do not like either.

My mom has a Buick Lucerne that is a few years old and that is one really nice car but I feel way older than my 42 years when I drove that thing. She said she gets about 28-30 mpg.

we are about to buy ourselves a new car for me, and have decided on a Subaru Outback Wagon 2.5i. We can get it for $20,200, and I have sat in the passenger seat for over 6 hours of riding before and felt fine when I got out. It gets about 28 mpg but we need the AWD and it has great safety ratings.

steve

 

[Tom_H]

Well in Cali, you don't have to worry about snow

That's what the Donner Party thought. I've seen places in the Sierra with 40' of snow piled on top. There are a lot of people in our state who live in or drive to the mountains. We do have some serious snow.