Car stuff

[altivo]

Went into Woodstock this afternoon and spent a half hour looking at the Escapes on the Ford Dealer's lot and the sole Compass at the Jeep dealer. I'm still not sure without driving them whether either would be comfortable for me. Both have some appeal though, and both have some objectionable qualities.

The Compass immediately reminded me of the Plymouth Neon, a car I never liked. I have driven a couple of them as rentals. It really isn't much like a Neon, though it does seem almost that small. And, curiously, it's built at Daimler-Chrysler's plant in Belvidere, just a dozen miles from here. That plant used to make Neons... The one we saw had disk brakes front and back, and aluminum wheels, both of which I consider nice features. The small 4 cylinder engine too, but with a CVT transaxle instead of the 5 speed manual transmission I really want. Fuel economy on the sticker was 23/26. Oh, and it was blue, which is fine. At least it's not gray.

Ford place had several Escapes, most of them used or last year's demos. There was one '07 in the showroom that we could only see through the glass (white) and one on the lot (gray). The gray one had the Duratec 4 cyl engine, but an automatic transmission. Fuel economy 24/27. I think with the manual it rated 26/29. There was also a new Focus sitting there and the sticker said highway fuel economy was 34. Gary doubts it. He has an '05 Focus that was rated 34 and is only getting about 28. But his highway driving is on Illinois interstates where everyone exceeds the speed limit by quite a lot. I think at 55 mph he might get closer to the rated mileage. At 65 or 70, he's pushing that little engine pretty hard. I suppose I could consider the Focus wagon like he has, but only if it came with a manual transmission. It's low to the ground though and I always feel like I have to get down on my knees and crawl into it.

Comments

[darkhorseman.livejournal.com]

EPA fuel economy ratings are innacurate at best. If your intrested I will find the car and driver issue that has the article in it

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They are a good guideline for comparison. The same driver on the same road will get different mileage in different vehicles, but in proportion to the EPA rating.

My experience with new cars now indicates that my driving habits get me almost exactly or a little better than what the EPA predicts, so I'm quite happy to use their measurements as a guideline.

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

There does seem to be a lot of variance in MPG by driver, especially with manual transmissions. My last car, a 94 Tracer (the Mercury version of an Escort), was rated 30/32. On mixed commuter driving, I averaged 33mpg. On long highway trips I'd get in the high 30's, even hitting 40mpg once.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

That's the experience I had with the Metro, getting far beyond the EPA ratings at times and never less.

[corelog.livejournal.com]

Speed very much affects fuel economy. If I do 90-100 (like I'm supposed to) when travelling through Vancouver, I can do two hours on a quarter tank. If I do 110, the same two hours over the same road will cost me half a tank of gas.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed, that's precisely my experience. I don't know the details of how the EPA does its testing, but being the conservative driver I am, I usually get almost exactly what they say I will. Most people here in the US complain that they don't get anywhere near that, and you have your paw on the reason.

[ruwhei.livejournal.com]

CVT should get you equal gas mileage to a manual...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Maybe in theory. The EPA ratings still show it coming off with slightly less.

I like driving a manual though, and CVT is still new enough that I consider it untested in terms of long term reliability or required maintenance.

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Dear Rider,

It's always trade-offs. Fuel economy stickers will be close if you drive conservatively and waay off if you drive like a maniac or racer. The shame is that in the late seventies a few small Japanese cars (Honda, Toyota, Suzuki) got forty-five to fifty-five mpg and now high twenties sounds good.

Rick always liked the Cherokee for Winter. My Pontiac Trans Sport is a heavier van than people think at over five thousand pounds and has the 3800 V-6 noted to last many miles with oil changes. Gets 22 normally and on a long drive such as to your house, gets closer to 25 or 26 even going 65-70. Overdrive does help. Staying off the gas accelerating helps a LOT!

I usually do the speed limits around here but that is dangerous on the highways or Chicago traffic. Too slow will cause a wreck. Grin.

Easier to fly a big ol' flap pony anyway.
Imperator

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I actually do drive the speed limit around Chicago and make them pass me. I'm stubborn that way, but I've also learned which routes to avoid, and I-90/94 are at the top of my list when at all possible. I know several preferred ways to avoid them at least part of the way. I have to use them to get to your place, though.

Yes, I'd much rather have my flap pony to take me places. I wouldn't need a vehicle at all, and he's much more fun.

[felder.livejournal.com]

Well... this old pony is still averageing about 50mpg (imperial) from his Toyota Avensis.. the trick is its a Diesel!

thats one benfit we have, European diesel engines are refined, quiet, powerful and yet do really good mileage. Shame they really aren't popular out in the US.

Felder

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Diesel can be tricky to get in some areas of the US.

Unfortunately, a lot of the Diesel engines we have been exposed to are noisy, smoky, and smelly as a skunk. That doesn't help much with the marketing either. The third problem is impatience. I don't know about your engines, but the ones here require a mandatory warmup. Most Americans have the patience of a gnat for things like that.

There's also a climate issue for some of us. Starting a Diesel in -20C weather can be something of a challenge, to say the least.

I have great hope for the hybrid technology, but it's still too young to say how it will go. I'm worried about battery life cycles and disposal or recycling, and wondering whether fuel cell technology really wouldn't be better, but I'm not in a position to do much about it other than watch.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

well there are a lot of Diesels in the northern parts of Europe where -20c is the norm :)

I wasn't a fan of diesels till the modern ones came along with buckets of torque and were smooth and quiet. Rather than turn the key and hello Massey Ferguson.