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Have any of you notice this lately? There’s always seems to be a sports package offered at just about every midsize to luxury vehicle, including CUV’s.
Usually it consists of bigger wheels with rubber band tires, thicker sway bars, stiffer springs/struts, firmer seats, basically the entire suspension system is designed for better handling dynamics at the expense of smooth riding comfort.
Even cars that are not sporty or have a sports package, drive rather sporty.
What happened to comfort? What happened to cars and CUV’s riding smooth over bumps, and potholes without the whole car shaking and feeling like it’s going to fall apart after driving through a rough stretch of roadway?
It’s like comfort has been removed from so many cars thesedays. The trend to be aggressive, go super fast around corners, and staying flat in the turns is what a majority of automakers are catering to now.
I mean have you guys looked at the new 2019 Avalon? That thing is trying way too hard to be something that it is not, cool and sporty. Toyota has gone down this route with the new Camry in order to lure in younger buyers, but the Avalon? It’s totally out of its character for one thing, second it’s grill is one of the ugliest front ends I have ever seen on a car. It’s all bad!
We all know the Avalon caters to the old folks, which is fine n dandy, why mess up a good thing, old people have more money than young people anyways. Too many automakers are trying so desperately to lower the buying age of its owner demographics, but the reality is, a majority of young people today are far less well off than their parents were, especially compared to the baby boomers which had it made for them growing up when everything was a lot more affordable, there’s was less people in the world, and over seas competition for jobs was unheard of so they had a much more stable life.
I’m a young guy, and I don’t really care for hard riding, sporty vehicles. They are fun to drive (sometimes), but having one as daily driver where your streets and freeways are in terrible rough riding conditions, my body would feel hammered and worn out every day after getting home from work.
I also see so many drivers in tiny cars such as a Chevy Sonic, Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Toyo Prius, VW Golf, and others, and I often wonder the same thing, Why? Why subject yourself to such a penalty box of a car. You know all those little micro-machines ride like crap, are noisy and uncomfortable. I don’t care if it gets 45MPG, you can’t convince me to own one. These are the “I just want something to get me to work and back” crowd and they don’t care how the thing looks or even drives.
Finish your coffee, get outside for a few minutes for some fresh air. No one is forcing you to buy these vehicles you hate. The people who are buying/driving them WANT what they offer, see more benefit than drawback. That you don't understand is of no relevance.
Have any of you notice this lately? There’s always seems to be a sports package offered at just about every midsize to luxury vehicle, including CUV’s.
Usually it consists of bigger wheels with rubber band tires, thicker sway bars, stiffer springs/struts, firmer seats, basically the entire suspension system is designed for better handling dynamics at the expense of smooth riding comfort.
Even cars that are not sporty or have a sports package, drive rather sporty.
What happened to comfort? What happened to cars and CUV’s riding smooth over bumps, and potholes without the whole car shaking and feeling like it’s going to fall apart after driving through a rough stretch of roadway?
It’s like comfort has been removed from so many cars thesedays. The trend to be aggressive, go super fast around corners, and staying flat in the turns is what a majority of automakers are catering to now.
I mean have you guys looked at the new 2019 Avalon? That thing is trying way too hard to be something that it is not, cool and sporty. Toyota has gone down this route with the new Camry in order to lure in younger buyers, but the Avalon? It’s totally out of its character for one thing, second it’s grill is one of the ugliest front ends I have ever seen on a car. It’s all bad!
We all know the Avalon caters to the old folks, which is fine n dandy, why mess up a good thing, old people have more money than young people anyways. Too many automakers are trying so desperately to lower the buying age of its owner demographics, but the reality is, a majority of young people today are far less well off than their parents were, especially compared to the baby boomers which had it made for them growing up when everything was a lot more affordable, there’s was less people in the world, and over seas competition for jobs was unheard of so they had a much more stable life.
I’m a young guy, and I don’t really care for hard riding, sporty vehicles. They are fun to drive (sometimes), but having one as daily driver where your streets and freeways are in terrible rough riding conditions, my body would feel hammered and worn out every day after getting home from work.
Okay, so don't buy one. Problem solved.
Quote:
I also see so many drivers in tiny cars such as a Chevy Sonic, Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Toyo Prius, VW Golf, and others, and I often wonder the same thing, Why? Why subject yourself to such a penalty box of a car. You know all those little micro-machines ride like crap, are noisy and uncomfortable. I don’t care if it gets 45MPG, you can’t convince me to own one. These are the “I just want something to get me to work and back” crowd and they don’t care how the thing looks or even drives.
So you go on an eight-paragraph diatribe ripping on people who want cars that look and drive a certain way, then come back and rip on people who, in your opinion, don't care how their cars look or drive. How does that even make sense to you?
And besides, it's pretty clear that you haven't actually ridden in many (probably any) of those "little micro-machines". They're not my cup of tea either, but my sister has a Prius and it drives very well. Smooth ride, quiet, very comfortable.
I also see so many drivers in tiny cars such as a Chevy Sonic, Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Toyo Prius, VW Golf, and others, and I often wonder the same thing, Why? Why subject yourself to such a penalty box of a car. You know all those little micro-machines ride like crap, are noisy and uncomfortable. I don’t care if it gets 45MPG, you can’t convince me to own one. These are the “I just want something to get me to work and back” crowd and they don’t care how the thing looks or even drives.
The Golf is a step up in size and comfort from the Fit and Fiesta, with the Prius somewhere in between. But I wouldn't expect an Avalon driver to recognize the considerable differences in size, quality, and features. As for whether Toyota should change the Avalon to make it more appealing to the under-75 crowd, I guess that's a marketing decision.
Didn’t mean to ruffle anyone’s feathers, as a car enthusiast, I see small tiny cars for people that don’t really care about comfort or performance.
No I don’t drive a Grand Marquise either lol. Used to drive a 94 Cadillac Fleetwood for a very long time however.
I guess once you’re used to driving such large cars for so many years, you get accustomed to a certain degree of smoothness and isolation. Nothing today on the road except for an S Class will ever ride as smooth as that Cadillac did. Part of the reason for this is because even large vehicles now are FWD. Front struts do not allow for hardly any suspension travel, nor does it do a good job at articulating it. This is why so many FWD vehicles all ride bouncy and stiff from the ones I’ve test driven.
Someone could hop into a Toyo Camry XLE and say “wow this thing rides like a boat” and I get inside the car and it feels like driving a Mack Track, stiff, hard and rough. So i understand it’s all relative, but with lower aspect ratio tires being the norm these days, I feel like the automakers still haven’t been able to build truly smooth riding cars in a long time. There’s a couple of Midsizers I can think of like the Fusion that rides fairly smooth and quiet compared to its competition, yet now that great car is being discontinued.
LOL. Most people after a sporty drive are complaining about those sport packs being too soft and going out and replacing suspension bits to chase after flat cornering.
I can't handle the ride of those old big boats with floaty suspensions. Recipe for motion sickness. I want the feedback of the road.
LOL. Most people after a sporty drive are complaining about those sport packs being too soft and going out and replacing suspension bits to chase after flat cornering.
I can't handle the ride of those old big boats with floaty suspensions. Recipe for motion sickness. I want the feedback of the road.
A smooth ride doesn’t necessarily mean “floaty” or “boaty”. My Fleetwood didn’t float around like you would think, it actually rode more planted to the road and was firmer driving compared to Cadillacs from the 70’s-80’s I’ve driven before.
What it did do best was when driving over rough roads or going over light reflector on the freeway, it absorbed the harshness and vibrations better than any new car I’ve test driven.
It’s a combination of a heavy curb weight, having a Body-On-Frame, big 75 series tires, and being RWD the main reasons for its superior riding dynamics.
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