Best car/s for living in Hawaii? (Honolulu: fit in, transporting)

[Frangi914]

Hi All:

What is the best type of car to have/purchase for living in Hawaii? We are selling the cars we presently own and purchasing new ones when we settle in., and we are thinking of a Jeep and a Mini Cooper. We figure the Jeep is good for exploring where cars can’t go/get to and for transporting items, grocery shopping, etc. The Mini Cooper is good for everyday driving because it's good on gas and just so darn cute (my husband wants this car more than I do). Presently I think you can just get them in Honolulu, so I hope to be able to purchase one and have it sent over to Maui (where we plan on relocating). I guess if the Superferry ever gets it’s self together, we can just go and get it ourselves.

What are you all driving? And what do you suggest?

[cynmkolohe]

I have a Jeep, for the same reasons you mentioned.

Have you ever driven a Mini Cooper? I did once--and that changed my opinion of them completely. They are adorable--but I felt so confined. A matter of taste, I guess!

One thing to note, those two cars are both fairly small and limit how much you can transport in addition to two people. If you are going to be doing lots of beach trips (coolers, etc), think you will have guests to drive around, will be doing any home renovations, or if you like to shop for groceries/supplies and stock up in one trip, you might want to consider a car with a just a bit more space for the extras.

[MsHell]

Originally Posted by Frangi914

What are you all driving? And what do you suggest?

I drive a VW Jetta, it's my 2nd one, been happen with my VW's.

I would stay away from full-sized trucks on Oahu, unless you need it for work - difficult to find parking stalls and if the truck is lifted it won't fit in some parking garages.

[Jungjohann]

On Maui I've got a Ford F150 XLT 4WD, at around 14 mpg it doesn't see much action. Also an Acura RSX and a Lotus Elise, they both get great gas mileage, the Elise is great for grocery shopping, as long as you don't intend to buy much. I'ld look into the Ford Escape, Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, any kind of hybrid vehicle, with crude oil closing in on $100.00 a barrel, I don't think we'll ever see cheap gas again. Perhaps you could buy in Oregon, no state tax I believe, then ship to Hawaii.

Aloha and best of luck

[kani-lehua]

Originally Posted by MsHell

I drive a VW Jetta, it's my 2nd one, been happen with my VW's.

I would stay away from full-sized trucks on Oahu, unless you need it for work - difficult to find parking stalls and if the truck is lifted it won't fit in some parking garages.

we are on our second VW as well. very good and dependable. good but not great on gas. traded in our passat sedan for the passat wagon. people seemed to want to race us coming down the pali with the sedan. all it had was tinted windows (legal) and nice rims. might have looked like a darker tint because the seats were covered in dark grey fabric. switched to the good 'ol family wagon. it easily transports gigantic bags of dog food and bulk groceries from sam's club. and, of course, all my animals.

had a for ranger once--lemon! had a gmc sierra when we owned a restaurant. loved, loved, loved that truck! not good on gas either.

minis are cute but, like cynmkolohe said, a little confined if you want to transport coolers and bulky items. guess you could put that kind of stuff in the jeep depending on the model. saw a woman driving a red and white mini and her vanity plate read, "minnie." she also had a minnie mouse antenna ball. hm?!

[Sorcerer68]

The Mini would do you fine. When I left in April, they still had outrageous markup. I don't know if this is still the case. Unlike the other poster, I love small cars...I lived in a totally different area of Hawaii and ended up with an S.U.V...yuk (just my taste).

Know that new cars are reasonable, new cars are outrageous. Huge doesn't work well at all in Honolulu. Those both sound like decent choices to me.

[Brav989]

The VW TDI (diesel) vehicles get about 55 mpg. Although diesel is about $4 dollars there a I noticed, it seems a lot more economical compared to a 35 MPG unleaded one at 3.29 or so a gallon

[kani-lehua]

what about the new "smart car"? manufactured by mercedes? talk about small. has anyone test driven it?

[Brav989]

Originally Posted by kani-lehua

what about the new "smart car"? manufactured by mercedes? talk about small. has anyone test driven it?

It's been out since 1998 ... though not here

[kani-lehua]

there are at least two dealers on o'ahu that are offering smart cars. one had an advertisement in the honolulu advertiser and another was featured on khnl morning news.

auto hawaii--james tucker
green machine inc.--bill stoutley.

can't remember if the cars are physically here or if you have to order them.