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Has Achieved Nirvana |
In the next week I plan to use my truck to get the travel trailer to a dealer who will take it on consignment. Before or after that I plan to buy a new vehicle that is less of a gas hog. Should probably do my bit against climate change. Which to buy? 1. Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 2. Subaru Outback with 2.5 ltr engine 3. Toyota Venza Hybrid, but not sure if it could carry my trike and sometimes a second trike. Two or three times a year I drive 7 hours to Albuquerque and then 7 hours to Tucson and back. An EV would require stopping along the way and waiting to charge it. Those days are too long already.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Haven't looked at vehicles since we bought our Subaru Outback in 2016. We probably average 27 mpg for suburban driving. We've had it on a few shorter road trips and found the handling and comfort (seats, visibility, etc) to be very good. You would laugh if I told you the number of miles we (don't) have on the Outback... Our other car is a 2003 Toyota Sienna, which I love because of the cargo space (especially when I take the middle row of seats out. You would laugh if I told you the odometer reading on this one...we really only need one car. One thing that I've discovered over the years is that the comfort of the rear seats can vary a lot among the different models. Not a problem if you're always up front but I discovered how bad some back seats are after being a passenger in someone else's. Or in my own car when we took an extra person and they sat up front. Our Ford Explorer and our friend's Honda Element are two cars that were miserable to ride in the back of for an extended period of time. If there's any chance that you'll be ferrying people back there, be sure to check it out when you go for a test drive. I haven't driven a newer Toyota, but we've owned our fair share of them over the years. I prefer the handling on the Subaru, especially on the expressway. Seemed like it was surer-footed; the Toyotas all seem to be a little less precise, almost looser, on the road. Don't know if the RAV4 or the Venza still have that characteristic. Anyway, the only other practical info I have to offer is this comparison of the two Toyota vehicles you are considering: https://www.autotrader.com/com...whats-the-difference
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Beatification Candidate |
I bought a hybrid last year just before it got difficult to find cars at the dealerships. (Kia Niro) The plug-in was just becoming available, but added a bunch to the cost. (which would've also made it available for tax breaks which the hybrid alone didn't qualify for...) And we live in a rental without the ability to plug in anyway! I'd heartily recommend a hybrid after putting on 25k miles and going through a Chicago winter. In the cold, I average 45mpg. This time of year through the summer, I see mid 50's. The electric motors give a nice boost to the smaller gas engines. You can either drive in "gamer mode" - trying to enhance mileage with the instrumentation, or just drive like a 'regular' car. I usually stick with more basic models, but this one was on the lot with all the bells and whistles - first time with heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheel! I use the driver-assist cruise control almost every day.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
I don’t have a specific recommendation. What I can tell you is that Mazda recently passed a Toyota is the most reliable car sold in America. We have been very happy with ours at 130,000 miles and I believe they make electric vehicles now. Might be worth a look.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Thanks to all of you. Mazda? Interesting. They make some attractive vehicles.
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| Pinta & the Santa Maria Has Achieved Nirvana  |
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
The Rav 4 Primes and Hybrids are sold before they arrive. A Prime would be great, if I could find one.
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana  |
A couple years ago, we went to France to take DD to college for her last year. I rented a Toyota Auris (apparently the local name for a Corolla) hybrid sportwagon. Paris to Orleans, driving around Orleans for three days, then back to Paris… it got about 52 miles to the gallon. I would buy one in a heartbeat… but… here in the US, you can get a hybrid or you can get the sportwagon, but you can’t get a hybrid sportwagon. If I lived in the Rockies and took periodic long trips, I’d opt for an AWD hybrid. Maybe the Subie Crosstrek. The hybrid is $25K. The plug-in hybrid is $35K. Ouch. My 2006 Outback H6 gets pretty crummy mileage.
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| Pinta & the Santa Maria Has Achieved Nirvana |
It must be dealer-specific. Our dealer here enforced a policy where you had to be first in line onsite, and the car had to be present, before they would sell it. We ended up talking with the salesguy who told us when the cars were going to be delivered to them. The hysterical part was they would accept a time-stamped photo of you standing next to their (locked) dealership door on the day, so we got up around 5:30 am, drove over, took the photo and went out to breakfast. We ended up with the car. Worth it, in my mind. It's too bad you don't have that option. | |||
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| Pinta & the Santa Maria Has Achieved Nirvana |
I was beyond disappointed in the Xtrek phev option. We went to the dealer with the notion that we would buy it, but it's horribly designed (at least the 2021 ones). The e-range is something like 10 miles, the markup is massive to get that option, and they've taken perhaps 30% of the back cargo space and given it to the battery. Nope. Subaru is using/sharing Toyota's hybrid technology, and presumably their electric engineering as well, which is too bad. Toyota focussed on hybrids, which are great, or fuel cells, but took their eye off of the emerging electronic car market and are significantly behind now. | |||
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Foregoing Vacation to Post |
Of the three vehicles you listed, none of them are EV. The Outback is gas only and both the RAV4 and Venza are hybrids. Concerning all electric EVs: The U.S. doesn’t have the public charging station infrastructure network yet. And it probably won’t for awhile. Go to a Tesla owner’s forum and see what they’re saying about cross country trips and the availability and accessibility of public charging stations. It takes hours to recharge an EV car. With a limited availability of public charging stations, you might have to wait hours for a charging station to free up if somebody is already using it. Concerning hybrids. They use two powertrains: an electric motor and a gas engine. The car switches back and forth between the two. The Subaru Outback has a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). Test drive it before buying. The CVT because of the way it works causes the engine to make a loud droning sound during acceleration. It’s not all the time, just during acceleration. The noise can be annoying. It’s not the CVT that’s making the noise, it’s the engine because of the CVT. I test drove an Outback at an international auto show in 2020. Subaru must have done something about the CVT noise because it was surprisingly quiet. I like the Outback’s dark green color. Never drove a Venza nor do I know anyone who has one so I can’t comment on it. | |||
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
The Venza replaced the Camry wagon. I took one look when it first came out and passed because of the very high load floor height in the back. And I think they are oooogly.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Subaru has a new model (at least I’ve never seen it before) called the Ascent. I haven’t driven one but I really like the way it looks. From what I can tell it has the same boxer engine as other Subarus.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Pre-pandemic, I got a hybrid Honda Accord. It's been a good car. The seats are a little stiff for my taste, and for some reason it requires more attention that my minivan (which it replaced) to hold its lane, but overall I like it. | |||
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Minor Deity |
I've been driving my Prius since 2011. It has now outlasted its paint job, which is flaking in the Oklahoma sun. It still gets 50 mpg and has no problems, but I'm vain enough to trade it rather than drive around in something that looks awful. However, pandemic supply issues would make that a pain in the butt, so I'm currently driving it flaky. If I were foolish enough to paint it, it would probably start acting like an 11-year-old car. In short, it has been a great car. When I bought it, Consumers Report was saying that the premium paid for the hybrid engine paid for itself in three years. I think buying it was probably one of my better financial decisions.
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