RootDKJ
New member
Background
I've been shopping around for a new car for a few weeks now. In the beginning of June, my 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid died while I was driving on the Garden State Parkway at 5:15 PM while I was in bumper to bumper traffic doing around 50mph. All of a sudden while I was driving, I got a message on the display to "Stop Safely Now!". I was able to restart the car after about 10 minutes and took it directly to Ford.
Apparently, the water pump that cools the battery system is not covered under the Hybrid Unique Components warranty. Needles to say, I think it's really shitty of Ford not to cover this. There are 4 other of my co-workers who have the same car that had the same problem. I'm trying to get Ford to recognize that there's a possibility of a design problem but that's not going very well. This doesn't really leave a very good impression with me, so I have decided to sell the car.
I've also been driving anywhere from 300-800 miles a week for work lately. The seat on the FEH isn't really all the comfortable on long drives and let's face it, hybrids aren't really that much fun to drive.
Test Drives
I drove a lot of mid-sized SUV's since then. Here's some of my impressions
Hyundai Santa Fe - A real surprise of all the cars I drove. Good driving position, handles well and decent acceleration. Controls easy to use. Seat has great upper support but the seat portion felt very flat and unsupportive (but not uncomfortable). Great use of storage compartments.
Nissan Murano - Great seat and driving position. Controls somewhat confusing and flashy. Sun roof was very noisy, but opening the rear windows a bit helps to lessen that. Fun to drive. My 2nd choice.
Subaru Tribecca - I really tried to like this car. There's something dash/console that looks very sharp to me. While the seat was overall comfortable, I just couldn't get comfortable driving it. A bit sluggish off the line.
Subaru Forrester - Overall a very nice ride. A bit smaller then I wanted.
Mazda CX7 - Very fun to drive. Way to small.
Mazda CX9 - Another surprise. Very comfortable, and great ride.
Audi Q5 - What a ride. So comfortable. Drives on rails. Rear visibility is really reduced because of the spoiler. Controls not intuitive. Most fun to drive.
Volvo XC60 - This is what I'm going to be getting. I really enjoy this car. And that brings me to my two options. Drive is almost as fun as the Q5.
Which Car?
So I've been working with 2 different dealers.
Dealer A - Has a 2010 XC60 that meets my minimum requirements. He's offering me better then X-plan pricing and is going about $2K below invoice. He's also offering me a fair price for my Escape. The only thing I don't need in this model is the built-in rear booster seats (at the expense of heated rear seats). If we ever decide to have kids, we'll use M's XC90.
Dealer B has a 2011 XC60 that has Volvo's BLIS. I like the how the BLIS system works, but it's not for everyone. He's offering me $240 over invoice. But there's some significant changes in the 2011 model in addition to the heated rear seats.
If things weren't confusing enough for me, one of my co-workers expressed interest in buying my Escape. He already has an Escape Hybrid, but no longer has personal use of it due to cutbacks. I told him I need a decision by Friday
So if you're still reading this :blink:, which would you go for, the 2010 or 2011? Why?
I've been shopping around for a new car for a few weeks now. In the beginning of June, my 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid died while I was driving on the Garden State Parkway at 5:15 PM while I was in bumper to bumper traffic doing around 50mph. All of a sudden while I was driving, I got a message on the display to "Stop Safely Now!". I was able to restart the car after about 10 minutes and took it directly to Ford.
Apparently, the water pump that cools the battery system is not covered under the Hybrid Unique Components warranty. Needles to say, I think it's really shitty of Ford not to cover this. There are 4 other of my co-workers who have the same car that had the same problem. I'm trying to get Ford to recognize that there's a possibility of a design problem but that's not going very well. This doesn't really leave a very good impression with me, so I have decided to sell the car.
I've also been driving anywhere from 300-800 miles a week for work lately. The seat on the FEH isn't really all the comfortable on long drives and let's face it, hybrids aren't really that much fun to drive.
Test Drives
I drove a lot of mid-sized SUV's since then. Here's some of my impressions
Hyundai Santa Fe - A real surprise of all the cars I drove. Good driving position, handles well and decent acceleration. Controls easy to use. Seat has great upper support but the seat portion felt very flat and unsupportive (but not uncomfortable). Great use of storage compartments.
Nissan Murano - Great seat and driving position. Controls somewhat confusing and flashy. Sun roof was very noisy, but opening the rear windows a bit helps to lessen that. Fun to drive. My 2nd choice.
Subaru Tribecca - I really tried to like this car. There's something dash/console that looks very sharp to me. While the seat was overall comfortable, I just couldn't get comfortable driving it. A bit sluggish off the line.
Subaru Forrester - Overall a very nice ride. A bit smaller then I wanted.
Mazda CX7 - Very fun to drive. Way to small.
Mazda CX9 - Another surprise. Very comfortable, and great ride.
Audi Q5 - What a ride. So comfortable. Drives on rails. Rear visibility is really reduced because of the spoiler. Controls not intuitive. Most fun to drive.
Volvo XC60 - This is what I'm going to be getting. I really enjoy this car. And that brings me to my two options. Drive is almost as fun as the Q5.
Which Car?
So I've been working with 2 different dealers.
Dealer A - Has a 2010 XC60 that meets my minimum requirements. He's offering me better then X-plan pricing and is going about $2K below invoice. He's also offering me a fair price for my Escape. The only thing I don't need in this model is the built-in rear booster seats (at the expense of heated rear seats). If we ever decide to have kids, we'll use M's XC90.
Dealer B has a 2011 XC60 that has Volvo's BLIS. I like the how the BLIS system works, but it's not for everyone. He's offering me $240 over invoice. But there's some significant changes in the 2011 model in addition to the heated rear seats.
- They put a much nicer set of rims on there.
- Changed the power steering system to a electric/hydraulic system.
- Increased hp from 281 to 300 (rumor of 1 MPG gain but not EPA tested yet)
- Changed to the S80's steering wheel (nicer)
- Cargo cover no longer standard.
If things weren't confusing enough for me, one of my co-workers expressed interest in buying my Escape. He already has an Escape Hybrid, but no longer has personal use of it due to cutbacks. I told him I need a decision by Friday
So if you're still reading this :blink:, which would you go for, the 2010 or 2011? Why?