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I wonder how many people really go and test drive a lot of different cars before making a decision. My wife and I have been doing a lot of driving lately as we narrow our potential choices for a new DD (for me).
One thing I have noticed is that there is a lot of difference between relatively similar vehicles in how they are built and drive. More so than I think a lot of people, in general, realize.
Over the summer we drove some family haulers/tow vehicles. Subaru Outback AND Forester, Ford Escape, Toyota Venza, Jeep Wrangler, before settling on the Outback. Ignoring the Jeep which is not a direct competitor and a very niche vehicle, all of these compete in one way or another between each other. Also, all can be optioned and priced similarly. Yet, none of them drove like the next, or was built like the next. We decided for us, the best choice was the Outback and it wasn't close. I can see someone choosing some of the other options too. The Outback seemed the most substantial in it's build quality, and IMO, it's rear wheel biased AWD made it drive and handle the best. The Ford seemed built on the cheap, with the hope that the MySync system would be enough to make up for the cheapness elsewhere. The Toyota seemed very "hollow" allowing a lot of noise and echo inside, lacking sound insulation.
Now I have been driving sporty cars for a commuter for myself. It is an area where I have owned a few cars in the past (91 Ford Probe, 97 Ford Probe, 2007 Subaru WRX, 2009 Volvo C30). So far I have driven the Civic Si, Jetta GLI, Mazdaspeed3, Ford Fusion Titanium, and Dodge Charger (I know the last two are not direct competitors to the first three). Again, more shocking differences. To my surprise, based on my past experience with Mazda chassis engineering and tuning in my Probes, I found the MS3 to be horrible (for me). The ride was washboard rough compared to the others. Power from the peaky turbo very non linear. Abrupt clutch engagement. Very noisy inside. I think it would make a terrific track car, but as far as a sporty commuter, not so much. The Civic Si impressed in it's dynamics. Good ride with just a hint of harshness, while retaining very good corning and steering communication. Peaky 4 banger was easy to modulate through one of the best shifting sticks I have had the pleasure to row. If only the rest of the car was not so cheap... but at least it is cheap on the sticker too. The Jetta GLI to me, has no place with the other two sporty small cars. It has tons of pricey enhancements to make it sporty, but doesn't really drive sporty. More like an up level normal car. I expected better handling, and a little more oomph from the turbo than it delivered. What is amazing is that these three are supposed to be direct competitors, but they clearly would appeal to very different buyers.
The Fusion and Charger are more on their own. We would be getting rid of an '08 Accord, which is more in line with these two cars. The new Fusion was a very nice drive. Not too sporty in how it drove, but if pushed it would put up some decent numbers. The 2.0L ecotec 4 had lots of low end punch. Passing power was a little disappointing however. It stuck well in turns, but felt as if the car was ambivalent to it. Due to the family car nature of the vehicle, the steering feel is not tuned to feel sporty. Seemed a bit pricey, but like the Escape, I think Ford is trying to take their vehicles up higher in price based on MySync. It did drive a little better than our Accord, but it may only be because it was new, and our Accord has some years and miles on it' suspension. The Charger was the biggest surprise to me. I drove and AWD V6 model. It definitely was tuned to feel a little more sporty. It cruised very smoothly (it is big and heavy) yet had very little roll, and some communication in the steering through turns. The RWD biased AWD helped there too. It is BIG though, and that is something I am not used to.
It just amazes me how different everything is, even when they are similar in purpose. I cannot imagine going into a dealer to buy a specific vehicle, without driving other things and figuring out what is best for my tastes and likes.
It just amazes me how different everything is, even when they are similar in purpose. I cannot imagine going into a dealer to buy a specific vehicle, without driving other things and figuring out what is best for my tastes and likes.
Actually that usually means the person did more research before doing test drives and is probably making a more educated decision. I can always narrow it down to 2-3 vehicles before beginning test drives. There are of course a lot of things a test drive cannot tell you. If you're test driving 10 vehicles it starts to get difficult to keep track of how you really felt about each one and compare each one side by side. If I only test drive 2-3 vehicles I can make a much better comparison of them.
I've typically pick the car I want prior to test driving from reading reviews, forums, seeing it on the street and then going for a test drive along with a few other cars. When I bought my Genesis Coupe last year I was fairly dead set on getting it as soon as I sold my G35 but I also drove the Ford Mustang and Subaru STi because I was considering those at one time as well. I ended up going for my first choice although the other cars weren’t bad.
I am not sure I fully agree. I could narrow my choices easily down to a couple vehicles and choose between them too. Usually have in the past. This time, since we really shopped two different vehicles for two different purposes, I have been driving a lot more than I would have normally done.
In part, that is because I was so disappointed in what I found from the "short list" that I expanded it.
I have also found that what the reviewers liked, and why, might not always jive with what my own experience is.
Most people know what they want, the test drive just confirms their choice.
This is true for me. If I have a good experience driving in a friend's car or have rented something I like, then the memory sort of sticks the next time I got to buy a car.
I don't have time to test drive every car. It's at least a hour process and I HATE dealing with car dealers. I narrow it down to a couple cars, test drive them, and negotiate for a bit to get the bottom price. Then I do the same to another car and see which deal is the best. I lease and get a new car every 2-3 years, so I'm always looking for the next one. Go to the Denver Auto Show every March and get to check ins and outs of about every car made.
I don't know anyone who doesn't test drive a few cars (and even a couple of the SAME car, just to make sure there isn't something wrong with the suspension or something that you wouldn't know unless you drove another of the same model.)
In a couple cases I have bought cars without actually driving the one I am buying... but before I did so I had the car taken to a dealer for a PPI or had a respected board member of some forum do a test drive for me and report back.
I drove at least a dozen before I bought. All were in the range of what I planned to buy but I wanted a range of experiences.
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