RiverC0il Goes for a Test Drive: CT 200h, JSW TDI, Mazda3, & Elantra

[Glenn]

Those new Grand Cherokees are badass, albeit slightly underpowered with the V6. Not enough to notice really, but if you like to gun it off the line you might notice.

The new Grand Cherokees ride on the same platform as the new Mercedes M Class. The one good thing that came out of the Daimley Chrysler love child.

They really made some strides with the current Grand. I think they look very sharp. And they've gotten good reviews in the automotive press.

 

[drjeff]

They really made some strides with the current Grand. I think they look very sharp. And they've gotten good reviews in the automotive press.

Agree. It's one really sharp looking SUV now. Enough of a change, especially from the back that you're not even sure at first glance that it's a GC anymore

 

[Nick]

I tend to dump my cars at 150K. They're still mechanically perfect but I prefer to sell the car before there is something seriously wrong with it. I try to buy leftover and slightly out of favor cars at a big discount. My two VW GTIs were bought as leftovers when there were big dealer incentives. My SUVs were all bought with all kinds of incentives & rebates. It's a depreciating asset. I don't see the point in paying the extra for a high demand car.

Right now, I'm not driving enough to need a new car anytime soon. I don't commute. I winter at a ski area. My only driving is to the airport for business trips. Unless my SUV falls apart from rust, I have another 4 or 5 years with the cars I own now.

Yeah I'm getting nervous on my car. I've got 160k and little things are starting to wrong. At the AZ summit last year, my door locks stopped working, I had to use the key in the fob to open the door and then I couldn't start the car because the Fob wasn't recognized.

Besides that it's mostly annoyances - something with the amplifier is wrong and the speakers on the left side of the car don't work. And hten of course just the genreal cosmetic damage from being almost 10 years old, several dings, scratched out headlights, and a really pitted hood.

besides that though the car is still running very well, so I think I'm hanging onto it for at least another 1 - 2 years.

 

[hammer]

They really made some strides with the current Grand. I think they look very sharp. And they've gotten good reviews in the automotive press.

Agree. It's one really sharp looking SUV now. Enough of a change, especially from the back that you're not even sure at first glance that it's a GC anymore

Here's mine with the camper hitched up...

 

[hammer]

Yeah I'm getting nervous on my car. I've got 160k and little things are starting to wrong. At the AZ summit last year, my door locks stopped working, I had to use the key in the fob to open the door and then I couldn't start the car because the Fob wasn't recognized.

Besides that it's mostly annoyances - something with the amplifier is wrong and the speakers on the left side of the car don't work. And then of course just the general cosmetic damage from being almost 10 years old, several dings, scratched out headlights, and a really pitted hood.

besides that though the car is still running very well, so I think I'm hanging onto it for at least another 1 - 2 years.

For the headlights, you can always get some lens restorer and use it. Won't get the scratches out but will remove the yellowing (oxidation?).

 

[Glenn]

Hammer, I'll have to check that @ home...blocked at work.

How's it tow?

 

[hammer]

Hammer, I'll have to check that @ home...blocked at work.

How's it tow?

With the V6 it pulls OK but it isn't that quick...camper's around 2200 lb loaded I think. Would have preferred the Hemi for towing but it's a daily driver so gas mileage is a consideration.

 

[deadheadskier]

Here's mine with the camper hitched up...

sweet ride and camper Hammer!

 

[billski]

no tunes?

Besides that it's mostly annoyances - something with the amplifier is wrong and the speakers on the left side of the car don't work. A

Well, if the tunes don't work, you might as well junk it. Tunes and a sunroof would do it for me!

 

[billski]

sweet ride and camper Hammer!

Hammer,
You are way dated. I think you need an upgrade:

 

[Geoff]

Here's mine with the camper hitched up...

Wow! That doesn't look like the side profile of any Jeep product. The ass end looks like a German crossover.

 

[JimG.]

For the headlights, you can always get some lens restorer and use it. Won't get the scratches out but will remove the yellowing (oxidation?).

That lens restorer is an excellent product. I used it on my wife's 05 Outack and I was impressed with the results.

 

[JimG.]

sweet ride and camper Hammer!

I have to admit the new stying of the GC is very nice.

The new Durangos are very nice too. I owned a 2000 Durango but like I said before, had some bad reliability experiences with it. I finally got rid of it in 2004 when both the AC condenser and the evaporator unit literally turned to dust and fell apart. It also had an inordinate amount of rust damage for a 4 year old vehicle.

 

[billski]

That lens restorer is an excellent product. I used it on my wife's 05 Outack and I was impressed with the results.

I used Meguiar's Cleaner and Polish several times. It seemed to work for a while, but then haze up again in a couple months.

 

[JimG.]

I used Meguiar's Cleaner and Polish several times. It seemed to work for a while, but then haze up again in a couple months.

Yeah, very true.

The problem is that those lenses get scratched up and that increases the surface area for oxidation to occur. So they turn cloudy/yellow faster as they get more scratched. And I think the restorer works alot like Simonize for the car finish by removing the very surface layer of the lens. By doing that, it creates more scratches.

 

[drjeff]

Wow! That doesn't look like the side profile of any Jeep product. The ass end looks like a German crossover.

Exactly! I rode up on one at a stop light on my bike a few weeks ago. And heading into the sun, on quick glance I was sure that I'd be seeing a "Q5"/"Q7" plastered on the liftgate and 4 rings on the front grille.

Jeep/Chrysler really did a GREAT job with the body styling of the new GC IMHO

 

[Glenn]

With the V6 it pulls OK but it isn't that quick...camper's around 2200 lb loaded I think. Would have preferred the Hemi for towing but it's a daily driver so gas mileage is a consideration.

On paper, the Hemi "appears" to just be a bit less regarding MPGs than the 6. But I'm sure in the rearl world, the numbers are probably a bit firther apart.

 

[riverc0il]

So Steve, How are they "snow-rated"? I don't mean your abilities, I mean, how well is the car respond, how well does it perform to commuter trips on a powder day. I know, it's summer time, who can say for sure. The one thing I wish I had was a wee bit more clearance.

I can't believe the number of comments about their wheels only getting ~100K-ish. These guys must drive them hard. I always keep it until it has 200K or 10 years under its belt, whichever comes first. That is the point I start having major repairs. This has been with Subaru, Toyota (lots of various ones) and Saab. Look like the Audi will get me there too. Thoughts?

They are rate the same for the snow. Slap four top end snow tires on and have fun. None of the cars were top heavy. I don't know how a hybrid would do in the snow. I would assume the superior torque of the diesel may be an advantage over the others. The Elantra was fairly disconnected and the Mazda3 was low to the ground and connected. Might just be personal preference. Snow tires trumps all except snows plus AWD, so YMMV. I don't really think about how the cars will perform in the snow.

The plan for the TDI is either to trade in after three years if S decided she wants a new wagon or CUV (then maybe take another look at the Mazda3 Sky-D) or keep it forever and run it into the ground. Diesels go forever, 300k wouldn't be out of the question. This thing has all the creature comforts I would ever want so I don't see any reason why I would want to upgrade down the road.

 

[AdironRider]

Id take AWD with all seasons over FWD with snows any day of the week. My neck of the woods 2wd anything doesnt cut it. Chain laws are a bitch.

 

[deadheadskier]

This argument has gone on ad naseum on this forum, but I'll say it again.

My FWD Sonata with Snow Tires does better in the snow than my AWD Audi A6 did with all seasons. Got stuck way more often in the Audi and in general it slipped around a lot more.