Car advice, please!

[Big RR]

thanks; you're never too old to learn, and I learned a lot from your post of the different kinds of systems.

[Crackpot]

Well unfortunately I’m now at a toss up between the Honda CR-V and the Subaru Forester I had hoped to settle on the Forrester after giving the CR-V a test drive (it is currently offered as a hybrid) and the damn thing ran great and they fixed the design issues from the 2017 model that steered me away from it when I was buying my last car in 2017 (mostly unnecessary limitation of the visibility from the greenhouse. (Small rear window and the transition of the a pillar to the fender blocked visibility (tho it did look nice) my biggest gripes with the CR-V are the interior color options (black or black with seats with some grey). Otherwise it’s great some nice exterior colors smooth ride 37 combined MPG. It was so much easier when my only realistic option was a Ford. (Almost was again the Bronco Sport was real nice but limited space in the second row a relatively rough running 3-cyl for still sub par Mpg steered me away. But man great colors and a beautiful interior were nice.

[Big RR]

I had Hondas (civics and Accords) fr a number of years and they were very good mechanically with good mileage (to be fair, they were all manual transmissions). All lasted over 200,000, and I gave a couple to family members who kept them going even longer; I only stopped when the locak dealership was sold and the service department became horrible (I had extended warranties on them). Wouldn't be a bad choice.

[Sue U]

As far as hybrids go, my family has been driving Ford hybrid products the last five years (Lincoln MKZ, Ford Fusion and Ford C-Max) and they've been great. They get noticeably better gas mileage in city driving v. highway, but still my MKZ is averaging a little better than 36 mpg; the Fusion is literally the same car with different trim. My daughter's C-Max has amazing cargo space for a small car. It's really a shame Ford discontinued all these models.

[BoSoxGal]

I was looking into manual transmission vehicles because cheaper to maintain/repair - but it seems the newer Toyota Corollas with manual transmission have iMT, which is clutch-less and significantly more expensive than a model with CVT. Wondering if the added up front cost would really be balanced out by longevity and reduced maintenance/repair cost?

Also my RAV4 was automatic and never serviced (I asked about it over the years and mechanics always said 'leave it alone,' and it ended up being the faithfully serviced engine that gave out at 213k miles/25 years, never any trouble from the transmission.

I am white knuckling my shitbox every day and hoping to get a few more pay periods in for a larger down payment on my new car, and still thinking about options. I nearly talked myself into the Subaru Impreza just because they are so cheap and I see them everywhere. But the Corolla hatchback isn't much more and I have an obvious bias toward Toyota.

Also I am not sure how I feel about the fact that most new cars don't have a spare tire anymore. I mean I have AAA, but if I ever take that roadtrip to Alaska across thousands of miles of nowhere Canada, that won't help me much.

[Crackpot]

If they don’t have spares they likely have run flats which are expensive to replace

[BoSoxGal]

If they don’t have spares they likely have run flats which are expensive to replace

They come with a fix-a-flat system kit. I haven't seen anything about run flat tires as standard equipment?

[ex-khobar Andy]

I have run flats on my car. They are great until they aren't. About 18 months ago I got a puncture (massive pothole) on a rainy night 10 miles from home. So I didn't have to get out and change it at the side of the road but I had to get two new tires the next day. Almost $900; plus I damaged the suspension strut ands that had to be changed. And then a few weeks ago I got another puncture in JD Vance country - Northern Ohio - far from home and in the boonies and had to wait for the specific tires to be delivered - another two new tires and another $900. I hadn't had a puncture in the US in the last 35 years and suddenly two in the space of a few months. I don't know if run flats are more susceptible to punctures or if I was just unlucky. I was glad of them that rainy night but I'm not sure whether they really make sense.

[BoSoxGal]

$900 for just two tires?????? Egad!

I must research this issue more carefully, I don't want tires that cost that much.

I have only had two flat tires in almost 40 years of driving - the first doesn't really count because it was a beater car I bought with my then BF and we had a tire blowout on the highway - luckily he was driving and he did good getting us off the roadway. The second was in Reva on the way back from the UP to Cut Bank on the Hi-Line, Hwy 2 somewhere around Fort Peck Reservation. I was glad for having a very good full size spare on the back which we rode on all the way home, about 7 hours.

[Crackpot]

My departed Rogue came with run flats as the 3rd row seat eliminated room for a spare and the CR-V I drove yesterday had them as the Hybrid battery took up the spare tire room

Fix a flat really?!

They must hate their Technicians

[Crackpot]

Some automakers sell tire replacement/protection plans (I’ll consider it if I get run flats

[Crackpot]

at this point I think it's split between the CRV and the RAV 4. If I cold get the Limited in the Wilderness colors. It probably wouldn't be close. As is I think the CRV is winning.

[eddieq]

Late to the party … I have a Mazda CX5. I bought it used in 2020 and have put over 80k miles on it. Very few repair issues and so far nothing major at 152k. It is my second Mazda after my beloved MPV was wrecked. The AWD system so far has brought me through Pennsylvania winters including some pretty deep active stuff. Out on a fire call once (EMS assist) I was parked on an unplowed road when the plow couldn’t get up the hill and around the corner. I offered to relocate so he could get a better angle and drive right through the stuff into an adjacent parking lot. Once the plow got past, I drove it right back to where I was.

Biggest complaint I have is that I feel like it should get better fuel economy. It I am a lead foot. I get mid 20’s. When my daughter borrows it she gets near 30.

[BoSoxGal]

I took delivery yesterday of a 2025 Toyota Corolla hatchback in magnetic gray metallic. It is like a little spaceship with all the tech, I absolutely adore it already after just the drive home from the dealership on which I intentionally got lost so I could drive longer.

Then I decided I had to run a few errands around town so I could drive it some more.

The car is obviously a bit lower to the ground than Reva RAV was, but otherwise it handles almost exactly like Reva did - the OG RAVs were built on a Corolla wheelbase, so it feels like coming home in terms of that.

Although I was reluctant about all the tech, I actually really love it. My phone is paired to the car and I can start my car from inside my house with either the fob or my phone - the sales guy said I could start my car from several states away with the phone app, though I'm not sure that feature would ever be necessary?

The car also sends me text messages to let me know I left the doors unlocked (it was in the driveway) and asking me to check the backseat for any kids I might have left there - that's a nice feature, is that now standard on all the new connected cars?

The radio works!!!!! I drove around listening to NPR for the first time in over a decade, it was so great!

Oh and it appears that I tend to hug the white line (because so many Massholes hug the center line, or drift over it) which I realized when the lane assist kept gently pulling me back to center. Very nice safety features on these new vehicles and nice to know there are airbags all around in case some moron ever hits me.

I was sick with anxiety the night after I signed the purchase paperwork - debt always makes me anxious. But this is the best birthday gift I've ever given myself and I am so incredibly happy to know that I have years ahead of me in which I won't have to carry the anxiety of driving an older vehicle with looming major mechanical issues.

I think she will be called Corollaline; credit due to a graduate school friend who suggested the name, which I love.

[eddieq]

I wish you and Corollaine many happy miles together.

As for the phone app - my youngest has that ability in her Subaru. Our local community day involves the main street being closed to vehicle traffic and I was working the north end closure while she came in, parked her car near that end and walked with her spouse the entire length of the event (just over a mile). I got a text asking me to bring her wheelchair up (she has mobility issues and sometimes a big flare up making it very painful to walk). I said I would come get her key and she reminded me that she had the app, so I walked over to her car, told her I was there and the car magically unlocked. I retrieved the chair, closed it up, the car relocked and I pushed the chair the mile to the other end.

[Burning Petard]

Wow ! ! Advanced business management I never expected from a Car builder! Technology I would never want; I would say the remote unlock/start by phone is just silly until you tell me of a real-life instance where it was great. A car builder offering a feature I need but did not know it.

thanks, Snailgate.

[Joe Guy]

Sweet Corollaline
Good times never seemed so good....

[ex-khobar Andy]

I like the tech up to a point: I tend to rent high end when I am in the UK - many miles to go - and I drive a 2020 BMW 4-series here. I love the safety features which help us old folk - blind side warnings, reversing camera, lane deviation warning etc. I don't know if a car would warn me if I start to drive on the wrong side of the road but I have been doing that for so long it has never been a problem and I really do not want to find out.

Two things that bug me. One is the radio. It's almost like the way I prefer Trader Joe's to Kroger. I want some breakfast cereal. In TJ's there is one four foot section with about 10 types of cereal. All perfectly fine. In Kroger there are two aisles with 300 (??) types. I still have not figured out the radio on my car after two years but it's permanently on NPR and I really do not give a shit where alternative Christian Rock is.

The other gripe is a bit more serious. For 60 years of driving, you turn the engine off and remove the key with one movement. Now there is no key per se, just a fob which might be in your pocket. You come to a stop at your destination and the engine stops, just as it does at traffic lights and when you are stuck in a jam. I approve of that. You get out of the car with the key in your pocket and the car is still 'live.' In fact sometimes the logic fails and the engine is still idling, but so quietly you don't notice. It's possible - I've done it, embarrassingly - to leave the car, lock it, and find that the motor is still idling when you return. I went back to the dealership wondering if there is a problem with the logic. But it's working as designed. You cannot start the car unless the key fob is inside the car. But you can walk away from the car with the key fob in your pocket and if the car has been started, it will continue. That takes a bit of getting used to.

I wish you much fun with Corollaline BSG - you can always come here for free car advice and you know what that is worth.

[BoSoxGal]

I wish you and Corollaine many happy miles together.

As for the phone app - my youngest has that ability in her Subaru. Our local community day involves the main street being closed to vehicle traffic and I was working the north end closure while she came in, parked her car near that end and walked with her spouse the entire length of the event (just over a mile). I got a text asking me to bring her wheelchair up (she has mobility issues and sometimes a big flare up making it very painful to walk). I said I would come get her key and she reminded me that she had the app, so I walked over to her car, told her I was there and the car magically unlocked. I retrieved the chair, closed it up, the car relocked and I pushed the chair the mile to the other end.

Ah, now I see how useful this feature would be in certain situations- she might have even asked you to bring her car to pick her up and she could start it for you, you not having the fob.

I spared a thought for all the auto key makers being put out of business but I suppose they get retrained as fob makers instead?

[BoSoxGal]

I like the tech up to a point: I tend to rent high end when I am in the UK - many miles to go - and I drive a 2020 BMW 4-series here. I love the safety features which help us old folk - blind side warnings, reversing camera, lane deviation warning etc. I don't know if a car would warn me if I start to drive on the wrong side of the road but I have been doing that for so long it has never been a problem and I really do not want to find out.

Two things that bug me. One is the radio. It's almost like the way I prefer Trader Joe's to Kroger. I want some breakfast cereal. In TJ's there is one four foot section with about 10 types of cereal. All perfectly fine. In Kroger there are two aisles with 300 (??) types. I still have not figured out the radio on my car after two years but it's permanently on NPR and I really do not give a shit where alternative Christian Rock is.

The other gripe is a bit more serious. For 60 years of driving, you turn the engine off and remove the key with one movement. Now there is no key per se, just a fob which might be in your pocket. You come to a stop at your destination and the engine stops, just as it does at traffic lights and when you are stuck in a jam. I approve of that. You get out of the car with the key in your pocket and the car is still 'live.' In fact sometimes the logic fails and the engine is still idling, but so quietly you don't notice. It's possible - I've done it, embarrassingly - to leave the car, lock it, and find that the motor is still idling when you return. I went back to the dealership wondering if there is a problem with the logic. But it's working as designed. You cannot start the car unless the key fob is inside the car. But you can walk away from the car with the key fob in your pocket and if the car has been started, it will continue. That takes a bit of getting used to.

I wish you much fun with Corollaline BSG - you can always come here for free car advice and you know what that is worth.

My car tells me it has an automatic one hour shutoff default if you leave it idling. Does yours have that too?