DD replacement (CUVs)

Posted by: Uncle Mush

Regarding newer features, like connectivity . . .  Try those features of the car before you buy.  We bought a 2018 corolla last year and i assumed Toyota quality through and through,  but am heavily disappointed in the infotainment interface.  Even with software upgrades, connectivity sucks so much so that had I known, I would have researched other vehicles.  I don't know if the final decision would have been the same.   Other than that,  love our Corolla.   Same thing with our 2012 Prius V.  Love that car, but infotainment system leaves much to be desired.   Oh well,  good with the bad.

I crossed the Rav4 off the list for this reason... the interface was not intuitive to me at all, and for the premium they were asking, i didn't feel like it was worth the price.  since they are the top seller for this class, dealers were not budging off MSRP...  i even went back to my dealership in which i purchased my last two Toyota vehicles and there was no wiggle in the price since demand was insane... 

I also passed on the CR-V since i didn't really like the CVT that was in it... the smaller turbo motor was quite interesting indeed but the common issues it has been having scared me from it... 

soooo, i went with my first ever Kim Chi edition vehicle... 2019 Tucson Sport... i am happy with the deal and they had great dealer rebates and incentives... i'll post pics soon... 

It is thought that Honda is going to be in a lot of future  hurt with going turbo and direct injection.  

Also the jury is still out on the Honda CVT as Honda has a poor record for transmissions throughout the history of their company. They build good engines but their transmission suck.  Also Honda suspension components need all sorts of bushing replacements.  Toyota has always been the higher quality build and their engines may not be a the level of Honda, the whole car fairs better.  

 Subaru has had all sorts of issues with head gasket failures which they fixed their their newer design engines but they screwed up with the piston rings which had all sorts of consumption issues.  

 Nissan, just stay away. Their merger with Renault is terrible and its showing.  They have all kinds of issues so much so that its not the same Nissan company it once was in the 90s and early 2000.  

Im also in the market for something similar but I dont know which direction to go because im debating on a used IS or a RAV four.  If it its just the connectivity issue I would simply find an aftermarket solution that does car play.  I wouldn't let something like that get in the way of having to make a bad choice getting something else however if you plan to dump it at 100k all of the cars will do fine.  

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If you own a business and want to write it off then ask your accountant what you can buy that is deductible. I could buy a truck 3/4 ton or larger and within four years have written the entire cost of it off under depreciation. If I had leased I could write off the entire month lease, mileage and maintenance on it. Then buy it when the lease ends. Federal tax laws are an interesting thing.

Looking at buying more truck than I need simply because in the end I deduct it from my taxable income. Wish I had that option before I owned a business. Seems unfair but hell, why not exploit it now.

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They make cars, just not sports cars and some odd ball cars that was in the Scion line up and now the Yaris.

Apart that Toyota is way ahead of everyone else in making quality cars.  The only car company that is bigger is VAG but they are not quality and their executives go to jail for cheating because they cant compete.  

Toyota has a philosophy model that is just killing it because they care about their owners and are always continuously refining their quality control.  They also stopped imitating and set a kind of uniqueness  that is rich in their Japanese culture.  

You would think that the other companies would try to be competitive but it's so bad now that they are gettin worse. Who wants to pay 100k for a luxury Silverado or trend towards making cars more unreliable.   

 Toyota doesn't cut corners and that is why the OEM fluids are not only the best fluids, they are also reasonable in cost compared to everyone else.  

When Retro-Mod classics become more affordable and reliable that new vehicles, there is a serious breakdown.

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Mazda is a second tier Japanese car maker. They are better than Nissan but not as good as Honda.  The MX5 is a fantastic car at any price and probably the bargain of the century. They basically brought back the British Roadster and did not improve on it.  Thats right they kept the handling dynamics and didn't screw it up with giving it too much grip or too much power with each new iteration.  Power and grip  looks good on paper but its what kills driving enjoyment on the street.  

Any car that is sold in collaboration with Toyota should be just fine because Toyota has given the manufacture the input by conducting their own failure studies which are far more comprehensive than anyone else which actually makes the other companies product better.  Rumor has it that Toyota  had some major problems with dealing with BMW because they couldn't get their stuff up to Toyota standards based on their failure studies but they made it happen to BMW benefit.  

Its also believed in the 90s former Toyota executives that formed a consulting group  helped Porsche survive by restructuring their company and assembly line. Probably the primary reason why Porsche lives on today but they have gotten stupid again with making other cars they shouldn't and running up costs.  

The Land Cruiser is the only SUV to cross the North Poll and it is speculated that its Toyotas most reliable car. These SUVs have gained a cult status and are now retaining their value.  Where do you think Land Rovers end up.  

I wouldn't say modern cars are over complicated, not NECESSARILY. I bought a 2017 Lexus CT200h and modified it (of course I did, I'm an idiot). Suspension and interior come apart like a 90s Toyota, except FAR better built. Everything is simple and well designed. Well put together. It really feels old school in a lot of ways. 

Speaking of infotainment, this is a real mixed bag for most manufacturers. I rented an 18 Corolla in Maui for a week and while I didn't LIKE the infotainment system (the UI is weak and unattractive), it worked great and I never had to touch it. Connected my phone in 60 seconds, and never touched it again. Start car, phone auto connects and auto starts playing music from Google Play Music. Steering controls is all I needed for volume and tracks. No issues there. It's similar to what I have in my Lexus, except touchscreen and I dislike touchscreens in cars. Luckily in both the Corolla and CT the HVAC is entirely separate from the infotainment and easy to use. If a company puts HVAC functions into their infotainment instead of buttons, it's an instant no go from me. 

That being said, I'm currently driving a mostly loaded 2018 RX 350 around as a loaner right now. It's crazy. Tons of features. My first thought is "over the top" and "overcomplicated." My second was "my life is substantially better with these features." Rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, parking sensors, ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, assisted entry (seat moves all the way back, steering wheel goes forward), it's all so lovely and so genuinely useful. And best of all, I expect it to last. Look at most Lexus models from the last 20 years. Every feature has pretty much held up. My mother's old 00 RX300 had 207k on it when she traded it in, everything worked perfectly. Look at any late 2000s LS with navigation, complex parking assists and all that... all still working. 

This is why I bought the CT. I expect it to last to 200k with ease. The electronics are not state of the art like a BMW (iDrive infotainment is pretty great I'll admit) but they're proven and reliable. I have no aversion to modern cars, if said modern cars are tried and tested like a Toyota/Lexus. Plus I loved the 18 Corolla, so much about it was excellent for the price point and I came away EXTREMELY impressed with Toyota.

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Lane departure warning is nice when you're sleepy or something. My Lexus doesn't have it, but the RX does and it's nice. Can be turned off without going into any complex menus: it's a steering wheel button. So you turn it on when you want it, turn it off otherwise. on the Corolla it's beep only so I kept it off until I wanted it, but on the Lexus it vibrates the wheel which is awesome. Base Corolla even has high speed adaptive cruise control, which will slightly help keep you in your lane and will slow down to keep a set distance from the car up front. All useful, not too intrusive. Blind spot monitoring is super useful, just a light in each mirror. 

I know some cars can be very intrusive. My uncle's Acura kept auto braking for him randomly when it was entirely unnecessary. I'm a tech journalist but even I struggled to figure out how to use BMW's safety features at times, like WOW it's unintuitive. And some cars I've rented incessantly beep at you randomly. VERY frustrating, I feel you. Toyota/Lexus seem to be fairly unintrusive. Never had my mom's RX auto brake for me, it's warned me of impending doom, but never hit the brakes for me because it's not overly sensitive or twitchy. When you go with Toyota, there's a certain level of... not overdone over the top features and bells and whistles in your face. Even with Lexus which has a ton of features. But it's never in your face. 

Only Lexus can do complexity right.  Their build quality is beyond any other manufacture for mass produced cars and they can last a lifetime. Most people dump their Lexus cars because they get bored. Its a Toyota however the best Toyota workers end up working for Lexus which take pride in their workmanship. On some assembly plants in Toyota Motor City  they have surprise inspections where they test each worker on the spot to make sure he doesn't slip up.   Some engines are CT scanned for  cracks and there is a guy that is trained to listen to each engine to make sure its mechanically perfect. Im in the market this year to replace my old Honda and Im thinking a used Lexus is going to be better than a new Toyota.  

My CT is at the dealer for warranty work. 14k miles, 2 years, and it's been flawless except a rattle in the door. One rattle, 5 appointments. Lexus has been working their asses off to fix it. The service writers take detailed notes, the techs replace expensive parts and pad other parts. I know rattles are insanely hard to find, but they've worked hard and given me loaded loaners every time. I'm extremely impressed, even though it's an issue. First time I took it in they're like "we found a rattle in the rear door too, want us to fix that?" I didn't even know! 

I agree dev, they take pride in their work. The workmanship on my Lexus, even though it's the cheap oft ignored Lexus, is really fantastic. I'm beyond impressed with my Lexus experience so far, both in factory build quality and dealer treatment. Even though my mother picked up a 13+ year old used SUV from them, the dealer still gave her nice loaners during major services and never upsold her. Her window washer pump failed on Christmas and they gave her the labor for free, charged her only for the part. Not because we NEEDED it, but because they just wanted to do it.

This past week while on vacation I rented and drove several cars - Sentra, Corolla,  Mustang, and 1.8T Jetta. The Jetta was the most solid. My buddy who has tooled around in a 2018 GLi said that version was exceptional. My brother had one (1996) and while that was a completely different car, I loved it and found it to be surprisingly agile and fast. My attitude is that they by 5th or so gen they have worked out the bugs and while it is made in Mexico, German engineering is typically respectful for the enthusiast. Of the 4 2019 cars I sampled, the Jetta felt the most composed playing Autobahn on California’s I5 and through the mountain roads. So if I were car shopping, this is a car I would consider.