New Cars circa 2006

[StillILearn]

Well, here I am, thinking about going out and buying myself a new car. I'm currently driving a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee (my fourth Jeep in a row.) It's still a great car, and I haven't had any trouble at all with any of my Jeeps, but this one only is only getting about 18 miles to the gallon, and it's got more than sixty thousand miles on it. I live in serious snow country, so I need a four wheel drive, and I do like the higher profile of a SUV, but I'm also thinking that it's high time for me to go smaller and to become more fuel efficient.

I've done some research on line, and the Honda CR-V is a Consumers Reports "Best Bet". It gets about 21 mpg.

Jeep has a small(er) SUV (a Jeep Liberty) that has the capability to run on biodiesel (no petroleum), which fact really appeals to me, but right now the regular diesel available at gas stations is more expensive than gasoline.

The Lexus RX330 gets the best marks for reliability and customer satisfaction, but it only gets about 18 mpg, and it costs about $10K more than the other two.

The "green" SUVs out there don't seem to be as fuel-efficient as they're supposed to be (or as they are going to be in the future), although I believe that there's a nice tax incentive currently being offered for buying one of them here in California -- in 2005, that is...

Anybody else out there making this kind of decision?

 

[Robert]

New cars are always a difficult decision. Any idea what the Saturn Vue gets? With GMs big sale going on (everybody get employee discount), it might be had at a good price.

 

[mehastings]

I live in serious snow country, so I need a four wheel drive, and I do like the higher profile of a SUV, but I'm also thinking that it's high time for me to go smaller and to become more fuel efficient.

Anybody else out there making this kind of decision?

How about the Ford Escape Hybrid? I'm not big on small size SUVs in the snow though. I tend to see a lot of them involved in roll-overs during the winter. I suppose a lot of that is driving with attitude though. Living in snow country you must see them, the "I drive a 4x4, so I can drive 65mph through a blizzard" folk.

You aren't alone. I'm making the same decision. I think we are going to wait another year though. Hopefully by then we can afford a Highlander Hybrid.

 

[sirmyk]

I love the Pontiac Vibe. Mine gets about 26-30mpg, and is AWD. For 20K it's a decent drive and very fitting for my needs. If you don't need the AWD you can get the base model for about 2-3K less, and it gets up to 36mpg.

 

[StillILearn]

the "I drive a 4x4, so I can drive 65mph through a blizzard" folk.

Oh, yes. They're the ones who need to brake suddenly and (duh) the car doesn't stop. If everybody's extremely lucky, they only end up in a snowbank with a red face, a ruined day and a towtruck bill to show for it.

 

[StillILearn]

You aren't alone. I'm making the same decision. I think we are going to wait another year though. Hopefully by then we can afford a Highlander Hybrid.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I'll check these cars out, too. I guess (since I'm in no huge hurry) I'll just hang onto mine until I've done a lot more research. I'd surely like to go green(er). The biodiesel option sounded good, and maybe I'll learn some more about that.

Soybeans! And "freedom fries" oil. I wouldn't mind driving around smelling like a french fry.