What do you drive ?

[bill2ski]

We are shopping for a new ride.
Any suggestions ?
I'm leaning toward a Volkswagon Touareg2
Any current owners ?

 

[severine]

What do I drive? A POS...oh, sorry, a 1998 Chevy Blazer. I certainly hope Chevy has come a long way since this thing... I hate it.

I love VWs. I don't have any experience with newer ones (my newest was a 1997 VW Cabrio that I sadly had to sell when we started a family). But I'm hoping to sell my Blazer and get a used Passat Wagon soon.

 

[deadheadskier]

2007 Hyundai Sonata V6. I lined up it, a 2007 Camry and 2007 Accord. Basically looking for a reliable car with decent gas mileage and solid acceleration and handling. The Hyundai out performed the other two cars for about 4 grand less having the same features.

Not sure if this helps you with your question concerning a Taureg. Personally, I'd stay away from it unless you have deep pockets. Out of the 6 cars I've owned, I've had 1 VW and an Audi and both were far and away the biggest money pits out of the 6. That being said, when running properly, they drove the best.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

We are shopping for a new ride.
Any suggestions ?
I'm leaning toward a Volkswagon Touareg2
Any current owners ?

With the V10 Diesel? That would handle the hills well.

 

[Terry]

As a general mechanic who works on all brands, I would shy away from VW and Audi. They are the most expensive and difficult to work on vehicles out there. Everything is specialized so the general mechanic can't do much to them. You have to go to a specialist and in emergency situations (break downs on the road) that may be hard to find. Just my opinion.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I drive a 2006 Subaru Impreza...it's a sweet ride..gets good gas mileage..and is awesome in the snow...Personally I think Tourags are ugly..and I've had two Jettas in the past(an old one and a new one) and both were money-pits. I'd stick with Japanese cars..

 

[skidbump]

2005 honda element,cold air intake and custom exhaust"cat back thru to twin tips".I throw upto 6 pairs of ski's in, upto 3 mountain bikes,and 2 large dogs "not at same time".BAck seats are good for 2 people"not a bench". I am sleeping in it this weekend at NASCAR race in Dover DE with a full size air mattress in back.Both rear seats are easily removed or fold up onto sides. My only real complaint is it only gets between 22/26 mpg's

 

[severine]

As a general mechanic who works on all brands, I would shy away from VW and Audi. They are the most expensive and difficult to work on vehicles out there. Everything is specialized so the general mechanic can't do much to them. You have to go to a specialist and in emergency situations (break downs on the road) that may be hard to find. Just my opinion.

This must be the newest models then. My mechanic is Brian and he's never had any problems working on our VWs. He just got a 2001 Passat Wagon, actually.

I can't imagine them being the most expensive though... I recall pricing out maintenance and repairs on Volvos and Mercedes and even older ones were quite expensive - more than I've ever paid to care for my VWs, which were always good to me and required minimal maintenance/repairs.

 

[nelsapbm]

Just traded in my Accord and got a 2007 CRV. LOVE IT. Can't wait to try it out in the snow. It's got "Real Time" 4WD. I get 26 mpg on my commute of secondary roads (no stop & go) and 29 on the highway.
Here's a link to the 08 model:
http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/price.aspx?Model=RE4858JW

 

[wa-loaf]

We have a 2005 Outback and are happy with it. I've got a roof box on it which give us enough space for two kids and a dog w/kennel on trips. It's been very reliable and good in the snow and handles better than most SUVs. The new Tribecca's aren't as ugly as the last version, have more horsepower and you can get a 3rd row if you are looking for more space.

Our second car is a 99 VW golf that's my commute to the train station car.

 

[Kerovick]

2002 Jeep Wrangler, I love this vehicle horrible gas milage crappy loud ride and all.

 

[2knees]

'03 honda civic. my car. great mileage. thats about all i can say there.
'07 toyota Sienna AWD. havent driven it much but it surprisingly has much better acceleration than i couldve imagined. much better than the 2.5 liter outback we traded in.

 

[snoseek]

As a general mechanic who works on all brands, I would shy away from VW and Audi. They are the most expensive and difficult to work on vehicles out there. Everything is specialized so the general mechanic can't do much to them. You have to go to a specialist and in emergency situations (break downs on the road) that may be hard to find. Just my opinion.

I would take a mechanics word on this kind of stuff. i have several mechanic friends that would never buy a volkswagon.


really just get a hold of the consumer reports car issue and see how they rank.

 

[MRGisevil]

'01 Maxima and an '04 Ford Ranger. Both are fine in the snow- the truck more than the car.

 

[snoseek]

'03 honda civic. my car. great mileage. thats about all i can say there.
'07 toyota Sienna AWD. havent driven it much but it surprisingly has much better acceleration than i couldve imagined. much better than the 2.5 liter outback we traded in.

03 civic hx for me also. just did my first real maitenence in 50,000 miles (brake pads). it cost 14 dollars @ autozone. new timing belt next week-i'm trading a 250$ cannon bretton woods midweek pass for the guy to do that whole mess, parts were just over 100$.

 

[Greg]

My ride is a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport with 142,000+ miles. I love the car. My wife drives a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Both 4.0 L straight sixes with crappy gas mileage (about 18 MPG). We are seriously considering a 4 door Wrangler for our next ride.

 

[tree_skier]

Just got a new Pontiac Torrant awd. I had been driving a 01 civic but the back seat was getting too cramped for my kids. So I was looking for a vehicle with more backseat room, was comfortable to drive as I put about 25,000 a year on it, and not outragously expensive. We looked at mazda's and VW's (not tourag out of price range), not enough room, Honda's the accourd was ok but didn't like the forward visability, CRV's test drove an 07 and going up a steep hill you had to get out and push plus a little pricey. The honda place also wanted to bend me over a desk on my civic so I went to a GM place. Test drove a colorado, not enough back seat room although I miss having a truck and the Torrant which had a ton of room, much more then the CRV, much better acceleration and with $3000 rebate and $500 conquest cash along with the $2200 that has been on my GM card for along time I was able to start at under $18000 plus $1000 more on my civic then honda offered. I am getting about 23 mpg but am still under 1000 miles so it may get a little better.

 

[Paul]

'99 Ford Mustang GT
'04 Dodge Ram Quad-cab long bed.

I'm the wrong person to ask....

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

I drive a tiny Renault.

I used to drive a bigger Saturn.

 

[Grassi21]

2002 Jeep Wrangler, I love this vehicle horrible gas milage crappy loud ride and all.

Same here. But I drive an Unlimited. I went from a 99 Sahara, to an Acura TL, to a Mazda 6, and now back to the Jeep. The Acura and Mazda are smooth quick cars. I much prefer my bumpy, loud, gas guzzling Jeep. There will be a Wrangler in my drive-way for the rest of my life.

Wifey drives an 04 4Runner. Lease is up in Dec. We have been looking at the GMC Acadia and the Saturn Outlook. They are the same vehicle just different badges. Well, maybe a few little differences.