Pittsburghers, What Car Do You Drive? (Liberty: fit in, 2013, transporting)

[SteelCityRising]

Since we've all been discussing our rational/irrational hatred of larger vehicles in another thread I thought now might be a relevant time for a tangential thread to discuss:

a.) What type of vehicle you drive;
b.) Why you bought it;
c.) If it works well for Pittsburgh-oriented driving;
d.) If you'd recommend it to others who are considering moving here.

Occasionally we see a thread from an incoming transplant from SoCal or TX or somewhere who is freaked out by the thought of needing a tank to commandeer our hills in the snow, so having one quick and handy thread as a point of reference could be helpful!

[SteelCityRising]

a.) I drive a blue raspberry 2013 Honda Fit. I bought it in mid-May 2013 at Shadyside Honda, where I endured seven hours of negotiations! My salesman, Charlie Gatewood, was awesome, although I didn't appreciate how rudely another male employee in the finance division there treated me with a lot of unnecessary background vulgarities being yelled out of his office.

b.) I bought the car because my flawed 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid literally died after around 64,000 miles, and Honda offered me a good deal on a new car if I traded it in. The reason I selected the Fit in particular was because I wanted an "urban sidekick". I live, work, and play in one of the most congested parts of the city. I parallel park at least 15 times per day, often times along busy roads such as Murray Avenue or Liberty Avenue, and need to be able to just flip on my turn signal and zoom on in without impeding the flow of cars behind me. With the ease of maneuverability and lack of blind spots I'm able to parallel park in about half the time it takes someone in a typical sedan to. I never liked the aesthetics of hatchbacks, but I must say I do like this one. I have an easier time backing out of parking spaces (even when between mammoth vehicles) than I did with my Civic.

c.) Overall I'm thrilled with most of my car's features, save for the fuel efficiency being woefully underperforming. I average 20 miles per gallon in the city, at best, and I attribute this to our hilly topography, stop-and-go traffic, unsynchronized traffic signals (wasn't CMU supposed to fix this for the city?), and my own personal leadfoot during my delivery job.

d.) I'd highly recommend a Honda Fit to anyone moving into the city proper who wants a car that's really fun to drive, easy to park, looks "hip", and has good cargo space. I don't know how "safe" I'd feel being in a collision at highway speeds, though, so this may not be ideal for suburbanites who regularly fly up and down I-279 or Route 28 or anything.

[trackstar13]

Notice red pickup and SUV in picture lol

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I bought the car because my flawed 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid literally died after around 64,000 miles...

Bull****. You messed it up on purpose. Hondas are perpetual motion machines hand-crafted by angels from Heaven. They literally have zero parasitic loss from any of their moving parts. On the 12th day, God said, "Let there be Honda," and there was Honda, and Honda was good. You're going to Hell for breaking a Honda, you ungrateful bastard.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

Notice red pickup and SUV in picture lol

There's a Prius parked facing the wrong way behind the BMW SUV behind me, though, so it kinda sorta cancels it out! LOL! The pick-up truck is a work-related one. It seems like my neighbors have all been working on renovating their homes very slowly for the 2.5 years I've lived here.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Bull****. You probably messed it up on purpose. Hondas are perpetual motion machines hand-crafted by angels from Heaven. They literally have zero parasitic loss from any of their moving parts. On the 12th day, God said, "Let there be Honda," and there was Honda, and Honda was good. You're going to Hell for breaking a Honda, you ungrateful bastard.

HA! Well, it seems like the earlier model years of the Civic Hybrid were destined to fail from the start, as many other owners complained online about faulty CVT transmissions and batteries. I did buy another Honda, though, since every other Honda owner I know raves about them in general. If this one also dies prematurely I'm going back to being a Mazda3 owner.

[ryanm3685]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Since we've all been discussing our rational/irrational hatred of larger vehicles in another thread I thought now might be a relevant time for a tangential thread to discuss:

a.) What type of vehicle you drive;
b.) Why you bought it;
c.) If it works well for Pittsburgh-oriented driving;
d.) If you'd recommend it to others who are considering moving here.

Occasionally we see a thread from an incoming transplant from SoCal or TX or somewhere who is freaked out by the thought of needing a tank to commandeer our hills in the snow, so having one quick and handy thread as a point of reference could be helpful!

a.) 2011 Honda Civic.
b.) I actually bought this in northwest Florida in November 2010, not knowing that I would be back in Pittsburgh in July 2011. I wanted something that was fuel efficient, easy to maneuver, and reliable - as I was livid with my 2001 Jetta having stupid problems. The Japanese way of engineering seemed to make more sense than the German way when I looked under the hood, and the spark plugs were right there!
c.) The hills and curves around here (South Negley coming down to Fifth is like a roller coaster) prevent my car from reaching its potential in terms of fuel efficiency. That said, it's not too hard to parallel park, and it handles the ridiculous curves fine.
d.) I might have reservations recommending this to someone living in an ultra-steep area such as Greenfield, where snow and ice might give it some trouble (haven't tried it, but I want to be cautious). That said, I've driven it in snow and ice down some hills in Holiday Park and never had an incident, although I've had to switch to first gear, and I definitely felt it. If you're somewhere that's not outrageously hilly, I would recommend this to you.

[PghYinzer]

1. Make: Jeep Grand Cherokee
2. Reason: Transporting the 90lb dog that resides in my house, for hauling medium sized items for home repairs, and for winter since I live on an extremely steep cobblestone street
3. City Driving: I have never had a problem, but never really thought about it. I guess it works well in the city, as I long ago mastered parallel parking when I lived in Shadyside and South Side. As for gas milage, it is horrible. I average 12 mpg in the city. Being in Brookline, I blame it on the hills. However, I take public transportation 5 days a week so I only drive it on the weekends. Goes well in the snow the times I have had to take it out.
4. Recommend: Sure, why not. I have never had an issues, has nice cargo area, goes well in the snow. If you need a car for commuting, probably not, but outside of mpg I have had no issues.

[JLeigh2182]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

a.) What type of vehicle you drive;
b.) Why you bought it;
c.) If it works well for Pittsburgh-oriented driving;
d.) If you'd recommend it to others who are considering moving here.

a.) 2004 Honda Civic Coupe

b.) Good gas mileage, easy to park, resonable repair costs, doesn't have giant tires, reliable brand

c.) I've literally had zero problems with this car in the 10 years since I drove it off the dealer lot. But, then again, I've only put 51,000 miles on it in those years. I rely on the T heavily.

d.) I have no reason not to.

[UKyank]

a. Jeep Grand Cherokee & BMW M6
b. I liked them
c. Sure, one for the winter one for the summer
d. Yes