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Why would anyone not want a sunroof on their car? They should be standard equipment on all cars. And why is it so hard to find a manual transmission on anything but an entry-level model (where it's hard to find sunroofs).
The sunroof on the Passat of Despair tended to randomly open-sometimes while running, and sometimes just sitting in the parking lot. After that experience, I regard sunroofs as just one more thing that's not terribly necessary and can break on you.
Because a lot of people prefer smaller cars, to the bulky CUV's. And ground clearance isn't an issue for most people. Smaller sedans are also easier to park, and get better mileage. What do I need a big, hulking thing for? I'm looking into getting super-compact, like a Honda CR-Z hybrid .(I know they've been discontinued, but they're still around.) With the back seat down, I have plenty of room for luggage for a road trip, and it's a nice compact car.
Could you explain how you consider a CUV to be more "functional"? I'm not seeing it.
My question is in reverse, why get a CUV instead of sedan even with hatchback (if needed for storage)?
Sedans handle much better than CUVs and offer better MPG.
Best set up is a sports sedan and a pickup truck (at minimum) for each person
Best setup for YOU.
I was a dedicated sedanophile for a long long time. They always served their function.
After the Soul hamster ad campaign came out in 2010, we watched with amusement. One day in 2013 I drove one. I bought it.
There aren't that many people who push their vehicles to anything like 70% or 80% of their handling limits.
If you like your sports sedan and PUT and have plenty of money to have two cars, that's nice. Not everyone is in that position and not everyone WANTS two vehicles. Space. Costs. Use of resources. The list goes on.
I loved my '13 Soul. I trade often and I've traded around quite a bit since then. Then I bought a '15 Soul+. Traded around some more after 2 1/2 years, now I'm in a '17 Soul.
Access.
Agility.
Small footprint, Impala space on inside.
Good seats, good view from 25" high seats.
New Soul is getting 31 MPG or so, cumulative.
Never had a lick of trouble with the Souls. That cannot be said for various GM and Chrysler products I drove in the meantime. A Mazda6 was cool but after a while the seats hurt my wife and me.
And when the seat is 22" vs. 25" off the ground, access and ease is VERY noticeable.
I actually did a side by side comparison between my Kia Sorento AWD and my GMC Sierra 4WD. This was in the winter and going uphill from a dead stop, which is a common enough event. It wasn't even close. The Sorento could only move forward with ESC deactivated and the front and rear differentials locked. And even then it wasn't confidence inspiring. The Sierra had absolutely no difficulty getting going, whether in Auto 4WD or 4HI. AWD is great for winter streets that have been plowed, but if there was a heavy snow I drove my Sierra.
Apples to oranges comparison. Sorento AWD is a crappy system - it's not true AWD. My Grand Cherokee is, along the lines of Audi, Subaru, etc. Both of my axles are always powered with the ability to shift 100% of the power to any one wheel.
My Cherokee with "normal" 4x4 was great in the snow, don't get me wrong, but my GC is just as good if not better. The only time I've had to turn off the TC was when some idiot lost control of his car and I buried my Jeep in a snow bank trying avoid hitting him. TC limited the power to the wheels since they kept slipping, so killed it, took me a few minutes to get myself unstuck and went about my day.
And your car doesn't come with crank windows, no A/C, and you can't get out and start the car with a crank like an old Model T. How could you drive something as unengaging too drive as that?
It's a personal preference, I enjoy rowing the gears and having more control over my car by having it. Items you mentioned are "amenities" more than anything and having a manual used to be considered the bargain barrel model that had no A/C, cranks, AM radio, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
I'll put my Outback on a 10 degree incline with a foot of unplowed snow next to your 2wd sedan. Wanna bet who gets to the top of the hill and who doesn't? I'd take the same bet with any compact crossover assuming I can find the stooopid button to disable the traction control.
Your Outback and any Subaru come standard with an AWD system that has true differentials, my reference was to CUV's using electronics to detect wheel slip and power wheels. That and my comparison was more to my Jeep Liberty and a modern CUV. Actually I'd put my old Toyota Matrix XR AWD against most CUV's today as the system was mechanical. Front wheels slip, rear differential engages and locks and all the wheels spin together. No nannies creeping in, and yes your Outback and most CUV's would handle better in snow than my FWD sports sedan, but throw a set of snow tires and 17" steelies on my car and I'd be just fine against them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
A Legacy Sedan and an Outback have very similar pricing. It's about $2K extra for the wagon and the body cladding.
I should have been a little more specific, Nissan Sentra $17k base, Nissan Rogue $22k. To some that's a fairly large gap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlaskaErik
I actually did a side by side comparison between my Kia Sorento AWD and my GMC Sierra 4WD. This was in the winter and going uphill from a dead stop, which is a common enough event. It wasn't even close. The Sorento could only move forward with ESC deactivated and the front and rear differentials locked. And even then it wasn't confidence inspiring. The Sierra had absolutely no difficulty getting going, whether in Auto 4WD or 4HI. AWD is great for winter streets that have been plowed, but if there was a heavy snow I drove my Sierra.
This is what I was getting at, put a CUV up against anything with a true 4WD system and you have a glorified FWD lifted hatch that won't do much for you in bad weather. I'm sure that's pretty obvious though, but if you look at something like a current gen Cherokee vs. Rogue vs. Rav 4 vs. CRV your going to watch the others struggle to make due while the Jeep plugs along.
I recall last winter heading home with my wife and children in the Liberty, had 4WD Part Time engaged and came up to a large steep hill and we were at the light at the bottom stopped. I engaged the LO as the road was still unplowed with 6-8" covering. In front of us was a small CUV (can't recall the brand). I sat at the bottom and waited my wife looked at me quizzically and we watched as they got about 1/3 of the way up and came to a stop. Wheels stopped spinning and it looked like the system gave up. After several attempts I gave the throttle and walked up the hill around him reached the top, popped it back into Part Time and continued our uneventful journey home. Between tires and a good drive system you can get through most anything, and moving is not the problem. It's moving smartly and making sure you can stop or maneuver when needed.
I much prefer the handling/driving characteristics of cars over SUVs/Trucks, and their derivatives, so I like compact hatchbacks (ala Mazda 3, Ford Focus, etc). Plenty of cargo space, good handling, good mpg, etc.
CUVs always seemed like too much of a compromise to me, and that one is typically better off going with a true SUV, or a sedan/hatch, depending on their needs.
CUV's offer AWD, have a hatch vs. trunk, have more clearance, are higher up for people with bad knees/ backs... sometimes have plastic bumpers. That's why they are more functional. Similar to why a hatch is more functional than a sedan.
The same could be said for some of the wagons, like the Subaru wagons. They have AWD & a hatch. Or is the Forester a CUV, now? I can't tell from the photos. They used to be just a basic wagon w/AWD.
Congratulations? Not sure how you get from your own personal experience and a sample size of a whopping one to "every car should have a sunroof".
Now sure where you get the idea that sunroofs leak. From the one car you had with a sunroof back in 1968?
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