by "Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
Published 04/06/2017 at 11:07
by "Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
Published 04/06/2017 at 11:07
No Tags
STARS: 0
So after the AC system in the Freestyle shrapneled itself, my wife and I started looking at other cars. It will be the car my wife mostly takes to work but shared outside of that time. My wife wanted to look at some small hatchbacks and when we were at the dealer, I saw a C-Max and thought we should give it a try. My wife loved it way more than the Focus or Elantra GT. I didn’t drive any of the three, but I found the c max really dull. She mostly liked the infotainment and how quiet it was.
The car won’t be “her” car but she will drive it more often than me. She really liked the C Max. And I can appreciate that we would have almost $0 gasoline costs Monday through Friday if she charged at work(which I think they have). And I do think being environmentally conscious is a worthy goal.
I had three things that made me balk at getting the C Max. The first and biggest is that it is eerily like our Freestyle inside, just smaller. It’s quiet, boring, and grown up. And my wife got really bored of that car and started driving our 535i as much as possible when I got my 944. Number two and three are that the C Max goes to the high end of our budget(it’s in budget but I thought to myself one day “if we are going to pay this much I wish I at least liked it”) and long term ownership experience of a hybrid. It also looks bad with a rack on it which we use a lot. My wife got kind of set on a hybrid/plug in once she drove the C Max.
My wife had originally talked about Mini Clubmans but there just aren’t many post 2011 minis around our town. A Countryman popped up recently and I showed it to her and she thought it looked cool and wants to go see it. But I feel like she’s just saying it because she knows I didn’t like the C Max. The theme here is passiveness because we are good midwesterners. I think she also wants to go look at a Fit.
What says Oppo? Should I shut my mouth and if my wife likes the C Max just nod in agreement and be happy it’s apparently “nice driving for a hybrid”? Happy wife, happy life method. Or since this will be our road trip/day trip car and probably what we get around town in generally as a family, should I share how I feel, because I’m a person too?
And for the wildcard n+1 solution. We split the budget in half, suggest she get a 500e(or maybe leaf) pictured above for her DD and we get something else for the family hauler that I find entertaining.
"smobgirl" (smobgirl)
04/06/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 0
I adore the electric Fiat, though I’ll admit I’ve never driven one. Apparently they’re rather loud inside - a friend drove one and asked if mine had so much road noise. I laughed and said I’d never hear it over my exhaust.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/06/2017 at 12:44, STARS: 0
What about the Hyundai Ioniq and/or Kia Niro?
"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
04/06/2017 at 12:55, STARS: 0
Hybrids aren’t all that “green” do the leg work finding out about lithium mining, and the transport of the material to make a damned hybrid. I suggest an Escape or a Terrain/Equinox. Hell if gas is a concern there’s a diesel model too.
"TahoeSTi" (tahoesti)
04/06/2017 at 13:07, STARS: 0
None of those come in manual....but check out used leaf prices or use 500e’s they are a steal.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 13:09, STARS: 0
I’m somewhat familiar with the idea that hybrids often times represent as much harm as they potentially offset in battery creation. Although I think the lithium mining isn’t as bad as some of the other metals like copper. Now, whether or not I could steer my loving wife down that road without coming off like a know it all asshole. I don’t know. Also, as some people point out, battery recycling technology and improvements to manufacturing can only get better if people buy in.
But I guess as we see from Koenigsegg’s camless engine, gas engines haven’t necessarily reached their potential either.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 13:13, STARS: 0
Good to know about road noise. You can get a 500e for peanuts these days. And yes, the Abarth exhaust noise is so wonderful.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 13:16, STARS: 0
Niro would be high on the list if it were coming off of leases right now like the others(1-2 years old). But since it’s new, it’d be pushing our budget, and we are happy to buy cars that are 1-2ish years old and not take the big depreciation hit. But it might be worth going to drive one.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
04/06/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 1
I’d suggest to forget the “green”-ness of a particular choice of car. The environmental benefit is questionable as others have stated.
I would keep it strictly financial. Which car offers the right functionality (that includes performance/fun, if desired) at the right cost of ownership, not just the price?
The Fit may objectively be a good car, but I could tell the finishing quality at the Mexican plant is really not up to par. A Fit at my local dealer had white overspray inside the door jamb, and the car wasn’t even white. The car’s paint itself looked noticeably worse than the Civic next to it—the paint running was inconsistent from area to area. That kind of stuff really ticks me off, especially when Honda’s other plants are renowned for build quality. My Serbian-built Fiat looks better-finished than that Fit.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 1
My wife has only ever driven my 944 in terms of a manual. And it’s not a particularly hard transmission/clutch to drive (I don’t think) but it’s a loud, kind of rough car, and she isn’t crazy about how small it is, and I think she associates the whole driving manual experience with that car. So although she is open to learning more, she doesn’t really want one as her regular driver.
And yes you’re right about 500e/leaf prices. One of my thoughts with getting her a 500e, and then a weekend family hauler is hopefully we could shop cars with a manual that maybe she might enjoy driving. I’ve heard Fits have great clutch feel and light shifters.
"TahoeSTi" (tahoesti)
04/06/2017 at 13:31, STARS: 1
Haha yeah, the 944 is a bit of a harsh start. Hey, at least she can drive it!
I’ve been looking at the 500e’s and Leafs for a summer DD, easy to park and I don’t have to go to the local gas station on crazy days.......don’t think they’d do me much good in the winter though.
I havn’t driven any new ford clutches other than the mustang and it was easy....but most my cars have Stage 2 or Stage 3 clutches so everything feels light and easy.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
04/06/2017 at 13:32, STARS: 0
Fit isn’t even in the same size class as the C-Max, which is really just a taller, tarted-up, Focus. I think the biggest problem with it is that the design dates back to 2011, so it doesn’t even look like a modern Ford.
For another option that you can make up the gas costs on in purchase price, maybe consider a second-gen Kia Soul. I’ve found that people tend to love them, and they’re decent in handling and ride for something so short/cheap.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 13:36, STARS: 0
They aren’t in the same class size but their cargo space is similar because lots of space is eaten up in the c-Max by the battery. I think the size difference is really felt for rear seat passengers between the two, and our toddler won’t really be offended.
The Soul is on our radar. Thanks for the suggestion.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 13:42, STARS: 0
I’m aware of the arguments on both sides about hybrids. And yeah, I’m aware that cost of ownership is a part of the equation not just price but the only real potential outlier in our search is the Mini. The C-Max is CPO and like I said, free charging at my wife’s work. The Fit would also be low cost of ownership, we may try and track down a civic hatchback as well.
"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
04/06/2017 at 14:25, STARS: 1
And, I just found in the caranddriver review that apparently there is extra sound deadening in the 500e. Hmm, this really could be a good compromise.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
04/06/2017 at 14:36, STARS: 0
The Civic hatch next to the Fit at my dealer looked great in terms of build quality. It’s from the Swindon (England) plant.