Comments on: Car Talk

By: red rabbit

red rabbit — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:36:48 +0000

I drive a 26 year old VW Rabbit (thus the monniker). It’s awesome. 7L/100 km, pass anything on the road, excellent in the snow.

I would recommend a Golf/Jetta 1.9 TDi (that’s a turbo diesel), if you’re going for something with serious resale value regardless of mileage. The TDi will reliably do hundreds of thousands of miles, at 60mpg, and better if you get it tuned yearly. They’re German, and apparently German has no word for “car trouble.”

My mechanic sings their praises, and I lust after an Audi A3 Quattro TDi (same engine, 4-wheel drive and leather interior) myself, though if you’re trading in an 8 year old CRV it might be a bit ambitious. They’re rather expensive.

Subarus are a good second choice. Better than anything American, but the older Japanese-built models were much better than the North American ones. Better build standards. My 98 Impreza has 340 000 km and counting, with no major mechanical problems to date, and is only now beginning to rust (@ Ahcuah: that’s because they’re galvanised!).

Note that VW and Subaru are both currently built in the good ole US of A, if you’re feeling guilty for buying imports. You shouldn’t be, anyhow, as big three cars just have nothing on the imports. If they want our cash, they really need to up their game.

Rustproofing, regardless of what you buy, is essential. I’m disappointed in your Honda, they’re usually better than that.

@Rob C- unfortunately, the diesel Toys are not available in NA. They’d be a great option.

By: Sir Galahad

Sir Galahad — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:11:25 +0000

What ever you do, don’t buy new – you are wasting your money. Buy something that is one or two years old, a lease return typically, with 20k miles or less. Some other sucker has already taken the new car depreciation hit and you get it for a lot less and it is almost as good as new.

By: Rob Clack

Rob Clack — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:38:41 +0000

I have a 2.2 litre turbo diesel Toyota which has no problems with brakes or accelerator (or anything else, come to that!) and regularly returns 45mpg. Admittedly that’s UK gallons, which are bigger.

By: Ahcuah

Ahcuah — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:33:59 +0000

Here’s another endorsement of the Outback. Mine is a 2000 with 160,000 miles, and it’s only in the last 6 months that I’ve had any trouble. But it is still running fine.

I’m really surprised that your Honda has rust problems. We have plenty of salt used where I live, and the Subaru doesn’t have any rust at all (well, except for the spot where I hit a fence post and scraped off some paint).

By: Sheril Kirshenbaum

Sheril Kirshenbaum — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:59:31 +0000

Thanks for all the feedback! I’ve long liked the Outback, so will definitely be test driving that, the Honda Accord, and others when I get back from DC next week. Will let you know the outcome…

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:35:29 +0000

290,000 miles on my 1997 Toyota 4Runner, and it’s still running like a top. 4 wheel drive, solid car, reasonable mileage – very difficult to beat, though my mechanic has a Toyota Rav4 with 340,000 miles. When I need a new car the only question I ask is “what kind of Toyota should I buy?” If you don’t want an SUV, but still want 4 wheel drive, I’d opt for a Subaru – my wife and two of my children drive them and they are very reliable. All have over 100,000 miles and are running great.

By: Kenyon

Kenyon — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:09:54 +0000

Subaru, no questions asked.

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:08:10 +0000

A co-worker of mine has bought 2 diesel VW Jetta’s and I must say I’m impressed. The Europeans stuck with diesels and ironed out all the bugs even as domestic manufacturers abandoned diesel technology.

Clouds of diesel smoke? No longer. Warm up time to start? Imperceptible (I’m serious!). Clattery diesel engine noises? Fuggetaboutit.

However you mention a bit of off-road or at least rough road duties. There, I don’t think the Jetta is for you. This is a more refined car probably not suited for rough country conditions.

By: Guy

Guy — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:24:30 +0000

You can easily get better than 40 mpg on a Corolla, or Mini Cooper.

Just for reference the base model Mini Cooper gets 37 MPG tops. They are working on Mini EV (there is a prototype) and a Hybrid Mini that would get much better MPG. They actually aren’t bad for winter driving. I would imagine that wouldn’t matter too much in Austin, TX anyway though.

By: Shecky Riemann

Shecky Riemann — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:22:33 +0000

In addition to the Suburus mentioned (or another Honda), I think the Toyota Matrix, Scion xD, Mazda 3 or 6 wagon, and even the new Kia Soul (spiffy looking, and Kia has improved) are all worth a look.