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I've yet to see a car that couldn't merge onto the highway or pass another car. So called power is irrelevant.
Absolutely untrue. Other drivers usually compensate for under-powered cars merging on the highway. You also deal with more white knuckle situations with an under powered car. That being said, most of your cars today have a decent power to weight ratios but once you drive a car the has good acceleration it's hard to go back to adequate.
Absolutely untrue. Other drivers usually compensate for under-powered cars merging on the highway. You also deal with more white knuckle situations with an under powered car. That being said, most of your cars today have a decent power to weight ratios but once you drive a car the has good acceleration it's hard to go back to adequate.
I've been driving for decades. I've only owned small compact and sub compact cars. I've never had a problem. No white knuckling. Drivers deal with other cars as they enter the highway. The car's power doesn't matter. It's a large moving object coming your way. You'll adjust if it's a Yugo or a Ferrari.
Again, I've never seen any car unable to pass or enter on the highway.
If I was putting my mother in a car, it would be a nice certified-used midsize with very low miles. I'd sleep better at night if she was in a decent sized car with a V6 that won't have any problems on the highway versus a brand new economy/compact that might...
That being said, if $20K is your budget you should be able to find a nice Accord, Maxima, Altima, or Camry.
I usually drive a minivan.It's a 3.8 l v-6. Have no problems.
But for MOH, we bought a brand new Hyundai Elantra. A 4 cylinder, it gets about 40MPG. I don't get to drive it much, but it IS a peppy little car! Actually more peppy than my minivan, which is no lumbering box. It is easy/fast acceleration, and very responsive.
The car cost us $15k new, a base line model with the basic options we wanted, automatic, air, cruise, power win/locks and bluetooth, and although we don't use it it has sirius satelite option. A new one now would be a little more and would have the back up camera as all cars have to have them now.
Both of us are happy with it. I wish my minivan could get that kind of mileage, but then it WOULD be a lumbering box with the same 4 cylinder the Elantra has, probably, and maybe not.
My only complaint is that as I am handicapped it is definitely not as easy to get into/out of as my minivan.
Look into one, either new or used, you might be surprised.
I've been driving for decades. I've only owned small compact and sub compact cars. I've never had a problem. No white knuckling. Drivers deal with other cars as they enter the highway. The car's power doesn't matter. It's a large moving object coming your way. You'll adjust if it's a Yugo or a Ferrari.
Again, I've never seen any car unable to pass or enter on the highway.
Clearly you have never tried to enter a highway on a short on ramp with a 72 corolla with toyoglide transmission. Or a 240d Mercedes for that matter. Here in Ct there are several on ramps and merges I drive thru on a regular basis that use to cause serious white knuckles in slow cars. That said most modern cars I have driven on these routes are fine including a versa.
For reliability a Yaris or Corolla is a good bet. For a nice warranty the Elantra is hard to beat. For a bigger car you can get a deal on Altima, Sentras and Chevy Cruze are good bets.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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Originally Posted by East of the River
Clearly you have never tried to enter a highway on a short on ramp with a 72 corolla with toyoglide transmission. Or a 240d Mercedes for that matter. Here in Ct there are several on ramps and merges I drive thru on a regular basis that use to cause serious white knuckles in slow cars. That said most modern cars I have driven on these routes are fine including a versa.
Strangely enough, nobody does because it's no longer 1975.
I have no issues driving a loaded down 4 cylinder Outback onto the Merritt Parkway, with on ramps about 50 ft long. If you can't manage that you shouldn't be driving a car.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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Originally Posted by damac2004
Not sure where you live but here in the bay area I have to disagree. If I'm not swerving lanes to pass the idiots and going with the fastlane flow of traffic the commute will take longer.
I drove a fiesta with a stick and that car was slow getting on the freeway. I see allot of the brands mentioned $13,000 cars are mentioned to be some slugs by the namebrand review sites? fit seems to be similar spec.
my old vw turbo diesel will smoke these cars merging but this will be the last car my mom drives and i don't want to take over the turd when she is done.
I have several homes, one of which is in the Bay Area. My daily driver when I am at my home in San Ramon is a Ford C-Max. 45mpg, no power, runs great on the freeway.
Back east, I drive a 4 cylinder Outback. Same thing.
In Seattle I have a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Lexus RX400h, plus a bunch of weekend cars.
So yes, all of my daily drivers are underpowered little weaklings. And yet I survive.
the honda fit is one good ride, lots of cargo space, easy to park, peppy engine, honda quality, and can be had for cheap, just a year or 2 old. the fit has been a target of theft, for the wheels.
on the other hand, I would snatch up the last year of the scion xb. it is basically a camry, in a box. Mom needs a cool ride too. It offers the same as the fit, but not as small, and not as much a of a theft target. It is pretty easy to find in a crowded parking lot as well...
There are few cars that would give me pause with respect to highways, and the Versa is one of them. I loathe Nissan CVTs and would look to a year or two old car as opposed to a new Versa if there was a set budget into which the Versa fit. The Honda Fit is good, but I had a strange thing happen at Hertz just the other day when they gave away my Mercedes by mistake because of a missed connection, and they gave me a Cruze for next to nothing as a way to make up for the hassle, since there were no other Mercedes available, and I could not take a Range Rover or Cayenne because I needed to park in a tight garage.
Anyway, the Cruze is a decent little car, in the premier trim, with heated leather (well, seating surfaces) seats, heated steering wheel, decent stereo system, an economical engine that keeps up with traffic and has power to merge, and the refreshed 2017 models have stop/start, such that the returned MPG over the 600 odd miles I had the car was in the high 30s. With GM discounts, the Cruze is right around $20k, and a little over for the premier trim.
It has a backup camera, but the model I had, that had most everything, did not have park distance sensors in the bumper, which I find are an asset when using a rear view camera. I found the seats to be comfortable, actually, and I'm 6' tall, whereas I find the Corolla's seats to be designed in a torture chamber for my size as they are uncomfortable after a short drive. You can get a Cruze hatchback if she wants a small wagon type vehicle, similar to the Fit.
The Kia Soul is a very good car to consider as well, since it is safe, offers a good seating position, has good power, and is reliable. In premium trim, you should be right around the $20k mark, and if you don't want leather, etc., you can find one around $15k. It has a unique niche in the compact class because it's different than the other hatches, and looks and rides more like a mini crossover, yet handles like a car.
The Cruze is about as small as I would go in terms of a car to drive on the highway, since the Sonic, Fiesta, and other mini cars tend to not be as robust. With advanced fuel economy management, like I noticed in a Cruze, the compacts can get good mileage too. The Focus used to take the small American brand segment, but I think the Cruze has surpassed the Focus as the transmission issues with the dual clutch would make me not want to own one long-term.
However, I cannot believe that the Cruze had the LED DRLs, but then the old school yellow tone halogen headlamps. I am too used to HIDs, I guess, because it's been a while since I owned a car without them, and on some particular roads I know, they are quite a help in spotting animals, etc. I mean OEM HIDs, not the retrofit abominations that blind oncoming drivers. That's one of the aspects where you see GM's cost cutting at work. That, and the suspension doesn't isolate well, and you feel broken pavement, but I've noticed that in Hyundai Sonata and Azera models that sell for much more than the Cruze.
The new Civic is just weird, in my view. The styling is odd, looking like a hatchback, but not yet a hatchback, and the interior seems jumbled. If your mother does not mind a CPO, look for an Acura ILX, which is based on a Civic, since it has many premium features standard, and you can get one that's 2 years old for under the preferred $20k price point, with low mileage.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
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