Results of Weekend Shopping for a New Car For My Mother
C. E. White
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander.
We visited dealerships for Toyota, Honda, and Ford. We eliminated Nissan and
GM from the shopping trip before we began, Where my Mother lives there are
not any other choices within reasonable driving distance.
We started out at the Toyota Dealership. First car was a Venza. I really
liked this, but my Mother seemed completely uninterested. I am not sure why,
but it was pretty much out of the running immediately. Next was the
Highlander. This seemed to be an immediate hit. My Mother didn't want the
third row seat, but it seems that is almost a universal option. I still
preferred the Venza, but I wasn't the buyer.
Next we visited the Honda dealer. The Pilot was immediately eliminated as
wildly overpriced. My Mother liked the CR-V but it seems that dealers load
them all up with options that jack up the price. To get one equipped
reasonably you ended up with a sun roof my Mother didn't want and a price
higher than the Highlander.
The Ford dealer was last on the list. We immediately dismissed the Flex as
too weird. My Sister liked the Edge and tried to find reasons why my Mother
should get it. Unfortunately the dealer had none properly equipped for my
Mother. The MSRP on the Edge was the highest of the vehicles we considered,
but there were rebates that made the price competitive with the Highlander
and the CR-V. I was really impressed with the new Taurus and thought my
Mother should consider it, but She was firm in wanting something taller.
I'll add a few comments oon the Taurus later.
So in the end we finally settled on the Highlander. The Highlander was the
cheapest of the vehicles (4 cylinder, cloth seats, third row seats). The
CR-V was the most expensive, noisiest, smallest, but best equipped (leather
seats, sun roof, electronic temperature control). The Edge had the best
seating, biggest, most powerful engine, most attractive (to me), but got the
worst gas mileage, and was hard to find properly equipped for my Mother. All
the dealerships were very co-operative and none were busy. I believe my
Mother will be happy with the Highlander. It is a little dull, but it has
good room, decent gas mileage and the reliability is likely to be comparable
to the Fords she is used to (can't be better, since she hasn't had a problem
with a Ford in a decade). I was in agreement with the Highlander as the best
choice. It was the closest of the vehicles to the Freestyle (aka Taurus X)
that she owned. Too bad Ford decided to stop making those, I think if they
still made them, we would have just got another.
While the salesmen at the Ford dealer were trying to find a suitable Edge, I
sent a long time looking at a new Taurus. The one I looked at was a very
expensive Limited model with almost every option. It was $35K....way more
than I would consider paying for the car. Still, it was very nice. Looks
great, well assembled. My only gripe is with the width of the center
console. I can't figure why companies (not just Ford) have to install
consoles that eat up a third of the front passenger space. Because of the
ridiculously wide console, the hip space available to front seat passengers
is no better than in my much smaller Fusion. Other than this, I really liked
the car. If I was in the market for a new car, I'd definitely be interested
in a new Taurus - but not a Limited!
Ed
Ashton Crusher
<cewh...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
>replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
>looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
>finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander
I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
Brian Smith
If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
your family?
My apologies for leaving Ed's entire post in my reply, I did it to back
up what I referred to in my response.
dr_jeff
> C. E. White wrote:
<...>
> If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
> post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
> your family?
He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
For himself, he liked the Taurus.
Jeff
AZ Nomad
She doesn't like cars that are easy to park, safe on the highway, or that can be
handled out of an accident instead of plowing its way through one. Having fuel
bills equal to the monthly payment is also important.
Brian Smith
>
> He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
> For himself, he liked the Taurus.
He didn't say that about the Venza at all.
dr_jeff
Perhaps not. But it was clear from the context, perhaps including
previous posts.
Jim Warman
C. E. White
"Brian Smith" <Hal...@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote in message
news:hbga2v$3bd$1...@news.datemas.de...
> If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
> post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment
> run in your family?
Why won't I be intereseted in the Taurus. It seemed to be a nice car,
very well assembled, and I am confident it would be at least as
reliable as the Toyota Venza. I liked the Venza too, but more for my
Mother than for me. She likes station wagons and the Venza seemed to
meet her needs. There is no longer a Taurus wagon. I did at least get
her to sit in the Taurus. She said it was a nice car, but I think she
didn't like it for the same reason she didn't like the Venza. She
wanted to sit up higher, which is why we ended up with the Highlander
(which has essentially the same drive train as the Venza, but is just
a little taller). As I said, if Ford still offered new Freestyles (or
the Taurus X) we probably would have ended up in one of those.
However, given my Mother's stated desires, it seems to me she
purchased the best vehicle.
My family as owned Fords for decades. I personaly have a Fusion and an
F150. Neither has had even one problem. The Fusion has 60k trouble
free miles. Given my very good experiences with Ford and my very poor
past personal experience with Toyotas, why wouldn't I consider a
Taurus? I know that current Toyota are a lot better than the junk they
sold 20 years ago, so I have no concerns about my Mother buying one.
Heck, if they made something I liked, I consider buying one also (for
sure if I wanted a Station Wagon, the Venza would still be my number
one choice).
Ed
C. E. White
"AZ Nomad" <azno...@PremoveOBthisOX.COM> wrote in message
news:slrnhdnd78.7...@ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net...
She bought a four cylinder front wheel drive Toyota Highlander! Come
on, this is not a Excursion, it is a Camry wagon (more or less). The
EPA rates it 20 city, 27 Highway, 22 Combined.....not as good os the
Camry, but about the same as an Avalon and a lot better than any
mid-sized SUV.
Have you actually been in a Highlander?
Ed
Ed
IYM
I hear ya - I have a 4 cyl, 5-speed stick, FWD '06 Saturn Vue and they
(NY State and Saturn) classify it as a SUV. After I bought it and had
it in for it's 1st and last dealer service they let me know my "truck"
was ready. At the counter I told the guy "my '99 F150 is a truck - and
that's a small truck as it is when talking about trucks - This is not a
truck" .....he smiled and said that he knows, but they make him call it
that and he'd get in trouble if he didn't. (BTW - Gotta say that the
VUE has 95K on it and not one prob...Still won't buy another
though...they won't be around anyway by the time I'm ready to look):)
I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it that)
because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the Ford
Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of today...I
have 2 kids and soccer/karate/etc practices to play chauffeur with and
it gets 30mpg in the summer and 27 winter. Some people are getting
conditioned to automatically see someone buying an SUV or say "why do
you need that?" and scorn you without knowing that it gets better
mileage than the car they're driving...Sad state of affairs in this
country...People are sheep doing what they're told, feeling the way
they're told they're supposed to feel based on spoon fed crap instead of
using their own noggin: SUV = BAD - CAR = GOOD. Get what you
need...Need the room but not 4WD or a 6 cyl...
Sorry for the ramblings...
SMS
> I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it that)
> because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the Ford
> Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of today...I
> Sorry for the ramblings...
It's okay, I was sad to see the only car mentioned in the bible be
discontinued (God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in his Fury).
IYM
yea, the Fury was the last wagon my family owned when I was a kid and it
went before it's time...It was the first new car my family bought
(replaced a Rambler Wagon) and it got wrecked in a snowstorm accident
when a lady lost it on a highway and came down the hill sideways and got
the front end in her passenger seat. As a kid, I thought the headlight
covers opening/closing and top of the fender amber turn signal
indicators were the coolest things! lol After the Fury, the gas prices
went nuts and it was a pick-up truck when we needed to haul stuff and a
Chevette when we needed to haul butt...
Hachiroku ハチロク
<GROAN!> GO SIT IN THE CORNER!!! ;)
C. E. White
pass along my impressions:
The good:
- 4 cylinder engine has decent power and it moves the car just fine -
not much different than the V6 Freestyle it replaced, but ....(see
below)
- Transmission seemed flawless
- Great seats, better than the Freestyle
- Controls much better than the RAV4's my Sisters own. I think Toyota
should fire the guys that did the RAV4 and let the Highlander guys
redo them. I do wonder about the Japanese obsession with HUGE control
knobs,. Does anyone need a 2.5" diameter knob to tune the radio? It is
like something from a WWII Shot Wave Radio (ditto forf the other
knobs). (see below)
- Third seat is very easy to raise lower, much better than the
Freestyles...but (see below). It worked like the third row seat in my
2003 Expedition (but easier to reach, but not split)
- Smooth ride but .... (see below)
- Interior is ver spacious
- For only a couple of thousand more than a similar RAV4, you get a
much better vehicle - I wonder how many RAV4 buyer ough to look at the
Highlander
- I was really happy with how much car my Mother got for the money
The bad:
- The 4 cylinder engine is very noisy - much louder than the V6 in the
Freestyle. The engine noise is very noticeable, especially since the
vehicle is otherwise very quiet. It is not too bad at a highway
cruise, but very noticeable when accelerating.
- While the ride is very smooth, the car is awfully "floaty." Reminds
me of some of the old Chryler stuff or the Grand Marquis my Mother
used to own. This won't be a problem for my Mother but I'd like
soemthing a little tighter. Manybe the suspension fior ther "Sport
Model" would suit me better.
- Although the controls are better than the RAV4's, they could use
some improvement. The knobs and buttons for the radio and HVAC are all
big and shiny and not particularly well laid out. The industrial
designers need to tone this down, Form should follow function. The
controls should not look like some bizarre modern art sculpture. This
is something the Japanese designers are addicted to and it is starting
to influence American designers. The controls in my current (2009)
F150 are showing this influence. They are easily the worst I've ever
had in a US designed vehcile (but still not as bad as the RAV4s my
sisters own). The F150 has two many big knobs arranged in some sort of
pattern that is not really related to the function. They are arranged
to look cool. And this cool looking arangement is just silly. There
are decades of study available on how to do controls and the Toyota
designers have tried to ignore all of them (Honda is just as bad, and
apparently Ford is copy catting the bad ideas becasue they think it is
what sells).
- Although the third row seat is much easier to deploy than the seat
in the Freestyle my Mother used to own, this ease comes at a price.
The Freestyle seat was a complicated arrangement that folded into a
well at the rear of the car and it had no significant effect on the
cargo load height. When the Freestyle seat was raised, there was a
huge well at the rear of the car that my Mother found perfect for
groceries. There is no well behind the Highlander's third row seat. It
folds on itself (thinner cushions than the Freestyle) and the rear
cargo floor is higher than it could have been with the Freestyle type
seat. It is a trade off. Given the choice, I'd go with the Highlander
stlye seat, but I think my Mother wishes it was more like the one in
the Freestyle (which she could not deploy herself...I always had to do
it for her). I think the Highlander third seat is potentially more
useful, but I doubt it will see much use. Still it is very easy to
raise and lower. It would have been nice if it was split so you could
raise half at a time, but this is only a minor (very minor) complaint.
Ed
C. E. White
like the cruise control switch. Otherwise the car is great. I do wander why
Toyotauses that weird crusie control switch.
Ed
aMAZon
I heard that the apostles were "all in one Accord".
--
aMAZon
zeszutko at nycap.rr.com
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."