SUV for carrying skis

[crank]

I agree about the nav. systems. I use a plug in tom tom that is great. If it breaks or technology gets better I can get a new one for another $100.

My GF has a Forester and we love all that glass; best visibility of any car I have ever driven except for a convertible. Outbacks feel a little tight up front for me. However my longer skis and our xc skis have to go in diagonally

I have a Toyota Highlander that works pretty well for a ski car and all my skis do fit straight except for my 210cm xc skis. Have taken many a long road trip with 3 people and all our skis and no rack. Highlander has a really smooth ride and is an excellent highway crossover. Gas mileage is low 20's with a 6.

Used to have a Thule box on it. It was a longer one and I kept some skis in it all winter. Not sure why you would need to take it off every trip unless you keep your car garaged. Mine was an older model and was a bit of a PITA to clamp onto the cross bars but still only took about 10 minutes.

 

[VTKilarney]

I agree about the nav. systems. I use a plug in tom tom that is great. If it breaks or technology gets better I can get a new one for another $100.

You just have to make sure to put the plug-in GPS away and out of sight when you park. Ask me how I learned that lesson...

The Waze app is worth checking out. I've had some really good luck with their traffic avoidance algorithm. I'm not a huge fan of their interface, however. I was hoping Google would polish it more once they bought the company.

 

[deadheadskier]

I used to think that too. Trust me, once you get adaptive cruise control you'll see the vast benefit. It's great for passing when you have to let someone get by you first in the left hand lane. It's so good that, as long as someone is in front of me, I don't have to exit cruise control when I go through the tolls in southern New Hampshire. It comes in handy a lot more often than I expected.

I would think it wouldn't be as affective with a MT car. If the technology slows down for the car in front of me while I'm waiting for a car to pass on the left, I'm likely disengaging CC anyways and dropping from 6th down to 5th to pass. Having to switch in and out of CC briefly on highways is a first world problem I can easily tolerate. I'd rather spend that cash on an extra set of skis or beers at the ski lodge bar.

Anywhere I'm near tolls or in high traffic, I'm not using cruise control. I want to be focused and paying attention to my driving then; not relying on a computer to do it for me.

 

[VTKilarney]

I'd rather spend that cash on an extra set of skis or beers at the ski lodge bar.

I can't argue with that logic.

 

[gmcunni]

You just have to make sure to put the plug-in GPS away and out of sight when you park. Ask me how I learned that lesson...

The Waze app is worth checking out. I've had some really good luck with their traffic avoidance algorithm. I'm not a huge fan of their interface, however. I was hoping Google would polish it more once they bought the company.

i use Waze all the time. they updated the interface a few months back, less cartoon-ish, but i actually liked the old one.

 

[VTKilarney]

i use Waze all the time. they updated the interface a few months back, less cartoon-ish, but i actually liked the old one.

I'll have to check out the new interface. I had stopped using it because of my vehicle's own GPS, but this may be enough to bring me back. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[dlague]

Nice thing about my SUV - it can handle spring season really well! Golf clubs, skis, lacrosse gear and tailgating goods all in one without a thule rack with four in the truck. However, Thule rack is our back up!

 

[yeggous]

Glad to hear about putting in the skis diagonally in the Outback. That verifies my measurements. I like the way it drove. My wife likes the Forester more because it sits a bit higher. She is having a tantrum that she should get the new car. She is threatening that if I try to buy something else, she is still going to buy a Forester. She likes to throw tantrums.

I'm going to look into the compact pickup route. I used to have a F-150 before the Santa Fe. It's hard to find something that seems worthwhile at a sane price point.

As far as GPS systems go, Waze is owned by Google and has the best traffic information. The problems with the Waze/Google solution are:
1) it over-optimizes routes in traffic and can cost you a lot of time at stop signs and traffic lights
2) it has no idea what the speed limit is, only how long it usually takes people to drive the streets

Apple uses TomTom. Their maps are the least accurate and not updated nearly as frequently. They also have the smallest database of points of interest.

I work for HERE. We are owned by a consortium of BMW, Audi, and Daimler. Our map packages ship on about 80% of new cars with nav systems in North America and Europe. (The other 20% is almost always TomTom.) The car / GPS manufacturer puts their own GUI on top of our API to integrate it into their infotainment system. In addition to auto manufacturers, we have a lot of commercial customers that rely on our maps including: Facebook, Amazon, UPS, FedEx, Microsoft, Rand McNally, Garmin, and Yahoo.

The part of the system that I work on is the search box. I take what you enter for a query and figure out where you are trying to go.

HERE's worldwide maps are the most extensive and accurate in the industry. Our system is largely designed with an eye on the self-driving car. For that reason we assume that you always drive the speed limit. This means that our drive times are overly conservative, and the routes are optimized toward the highway.

 

[Puck it]

Here you go

http://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/...m-build-challenge-oakley-ultimate-ski-runner/

 

[yeggous]

I was thinking about the Rav4 and CR-V. But did you see the Consumer Reports inter-comparison test of a the AWD systems?

 

[HD333]

Oops, just remembered you want the navi, but under 30K. I think to get the navi package, you'll be well over 30K.

A new CRV is over $30k? WTF?


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[Bene288]

Nothing beats a pick up. .

 

[dlague]

A new CRV is over $30k? WTF?


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Car and truck prices are so out of hand at this point that even 3 year old vehicles are priced too high! I never buy new - generally 2-3 years old and while recently looking I opted to hold on to my truck for one more season.

 

[VTKilarney]

I agree that the prices have gotten way out of hand. While cars are much safer than they used to be, they are also much more complicated to produce. That has had an impact on prices, for sure.

 

[BenedictGomez]

As far as an SUV - I too have been looking at crossovers and have been wondering about that. I currently have a full size SUV and when it involves 5 or less I can through all the gear in the back with no problems and it is way easier unloading.

I think you'll be disappointed going from a full-size SUV to a station wagon (aka crossover). They're just not the same. As with all my vehicles, I'll drive it until it dies, as which time, the used-car market will no longer be at it's 2015 highs. Maybe get a Tahoe next or something akin to that.

Manual transmissions are starting to go the way of the Dodo. even sports cars are going with automatics such as the 8speed for the corvette.

With good reason. I get that some people love the feel of driving stick, but the reality is, with the modern computerization, even Jeff Gordon isn't going to "out shift" a regular production vehicle's automatic transmission.

The Waze app is worth checking out. I've had some really good luck with their traffic avoidance algorithm. I'm not a huge fan of their interface, however. I was hoping Google would polish it more once they bought the company.

I tried experimenting with this on my road-trip from from FL, but I didnt like it. I didnt like the non-realistic cartoon'y display, and unless I couldnt figure it out, it doesnt incorporate live red, yellow, green traffic like GOOG maps? The police car thing is a cool idea in theory, but I found that I'd be right on top of (or past) the police car in question when it went off, or too often it wasnt updated and there was no cop in the first place. I like using a combo effort of my Garmin with traffic, and regular old GOOG maps better. If I see traffic on the Garmin, I look at GOOG maps to get around it. Saves me literally hours of time from being stuck in traffic.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Car and truck prices are so out of hand at this point that even 3 year old vehicles are priced too high! I never buy new - generally 2-3 years old and while recently looking I opted to hold on to my truck for one more season.

Supply & Demand.

The good news, however, is that used car prices are going to crash in about 3 years.

 

[VTKilarney]

With good reason. I get that some people love the feel of driving stick, but the reality is, with the modern computerization, even Jeff Gordon isn't going to "out shift" a regular production vehicle's automatic transmission.

I fully agree. I drove a manual transmission for years, but I have no desire to go back. Modern automatic transmissions are way better than they used to be. I have eight gears to choose from, and I can set the driving mode to suit my style. And if that's not enough, I can set my transmission to shift manually. Can the person with a manual transmission shift into "automatic mode" when they are in a traffic jam? I think not.

Bottom line: Despite what fans of manual transmissions think, there really aren't any benefits to manual transmissions anymore. Technology has made manual transmissions a relic.

 

[ironhippy]

The good news, however, is that used car prices are going to crash in about 3 years.

The bad news is that used cars are going to be less and less useful.

From the expense of replacing critical electrical components to the fact that vehicles are not built as sturdy as before (simply put, less metal = less weight = better fuel mileage) means that cars will not last as long as we're used to.

 

[ironhippy]

Bottom line: Despite what fans of manual transmissions think, there really aren't any benefits to manual transmissions anymore. Technology has made manual transmissions a relic.

I drive a manual and agree with you completely. If I had to deal with traffic at all, I would not have a manual.

 

[deadheadskier]

BG, I think you assume that people who prefer a MT do so for acceleration purposes and running through the gears. That's a completely false assumption. I know I can't "run through the gears" as fast as the computerized automatics of today.

But, those computers aren't going to maintain the type of torque I want over a car in given driving circumstances. That's the point in addition to the "fun factor." You simply have much more control over a vehicle with a MT. They perform vastly better in snow and muddy conditions as well. There's no denying this.