Did travel influence your last car purchase?
 

My husband and I recently had our first child and we are discussing our next car purchase. Our family car is a mid-sized sedan and it is about 9 years old. Because of all the gear we now need we have decided that car travel will be our travel of choice for the next several years. From a cost/gas perspective another mid-sized car would make the most sense. But because we think we would like one more child, I have recently considered a compact SUV such as a RAV4. So has travel and family influenced your choice in car purchases recently?

Yes, travel has influenced our car purchases.

My husband decided to give the oversized SUV back to the soccer moms and bought the largest pickup truck that Dodge makes in the 1500 series. It has more bells and whistles than his luxury SUV (heated leather seats in a pickup truck? please) and only gets 12.7 miles to the gallon versus the 15 with his SUV.

Yes, and my daughter too, because we go from IL to MI so often.

She just got a Honda CR-V and I'm thinking about the RAV4 as well. Weather and traffic, we need to be higher on the expressways and extensive travel we do on the big truck avenues.

Hate to admit it, but yes, family and travel influenced our last couple of vehicle purchases. With kids, a minivan made the most sense for us. It drives like a car (not a truck as many of the SUVs do) and the gas mileage is better than a SUV. We have plenty of room for luggage and passengers.

Yes. We wanted comfort, decent gas mileage, and space for our camping/biking/ski gear. We got a Subaru Outback and it has been a great car for us so far.

Partially. When it was time to trade in my well-loved convertible in February this year, we had plans to sell our little pickup truck and needed something to haul things around in. I was also thinking about driving trips and wanted something to comfortably fit four people AND their luggage. And I wanted gas mileage that was no worse than my convertible. I was looking at the high-end compact SUVs:

-- Toyota RAV4: Great design, high quality, salespeople couldn't be bothered to find me the model I wanted (although they set on me like vultures as soon as I hit the lot). That attitude (I've gotten it before from them) has turned me off to Toyota for life.

-- Mitsubishi Outlander: Nice little car. Drove well, but a little sluggish in feel. A bit tight inside, but comfy overall. Leather would have been a dealer add-on.

-- Subaru Forester: The <b>Consumer Reports</b> top-rated compact SUV. Completely unimpressive in person. Simply a station wagon with a bit more head room. Too narrow for three people in back. Noisy flat engine. Handled great and was peppy, but left me utterly cold.

-- Honda CR-V: It hit all my needs perfectly. The capper was the fold-out table in the cargo floor. Perfect for picnicking! Test-drove it on a Sunday, bought it the following Friday, installed backup sensors, fog lamps and a roof rack the following Saturday. I've loved it ever since, and as the engine opens up the mileage has crept up (a solid 24 mpg combined city/highway). Not the most exciting design, not the fastest, but handles superbly, parks in small spaces and is super-roomy inside.

So yeah-- travel did influence my car purchase.

rjw, I've very interested in your post.
I'm on the fence and do understand your Toyota experience, exactly. Yes, me too.

I think the one thing that turns me off and is keeping me from going ahead before winter, is the tire mounted as it is. I just don't like that feature.

I must tell you, my daughter loves the little table, and my 6 &amp; 3 year old grandsons will eagerly demonstrate its use at the first opportunity. Also the seats are marvelous for the two boys and their safety equipment in the back.

I hope that this isn't getting too diverted from travel, but for those who bought a compact SUV (like the CR-V) did you think a 4 cylinder has enough power? As far as Toyota, I have never owned one, but my mom's husband has had 2 Camrys and they were very positive about their dealings with the dealerships.

I didn't realize the CR-V had a fold out table. Hmmm...

We're looking (somewhat tentatively) at a bigger car. We have an old Toyota Corolla and a full size pickup. But we're considering adding another kid to the family; and thus, another carseat so we want a bigger backseat.

We've been looking at the Subaru Outback wagon because of the high clearance; good handling for snowy, icy roads; and it's easy to get skis, bikes, kayaks on top of the car.

JJ5: Do two carseats fit well in the back of your daughter's CRV?

JJ5, I think I understand your position on the spare tire. It actually doesn't impair visibility noticeably. However, let's look at where it might be otherwise:

-- Inside, under the cargo floor (and therefore under anything you have in the cargo area, meaning you'll have to move that stuff OUT before the spare tire can be used)

-- Outside, stowed on the chassis underside (and happily collecting EVERY bit of road schmutz you've driven over since the last car wash, so have gloves handy), requiring driver to get on the ground, crank down the spare, unlatch it and hoist it from underneath the car

So the spare is on the rear hatch door. Is it covered by snow (non-issue for me in CA)? Wipe it off. Zip off the cover, ease it off, undo lug nuts and free spare-- all while standing up. I kind of like that. And any impact to rear visibility is balanced by the mirrors, all the other windows and my backup sensors (oh, those are worth their cost every time I have to parallel park in Belmont Shore!).

However, if you can get past the sales experience (thank you, I can get that attitude lunching at the Ivy at the Shore!!), the RAV4 is a seriously great SUV-- whose spare tire is also on the rear hatch. It's well worth a look, and had the salesperson had the slightest interest in my business, I might be driving one. But the CR-V is a great choice, and I love mine. LOVE it.

No, because I had not really traveled much before I bought my car, and also because I was a new driver and didn't know much about cars in general.

But whenever I get my next car, I will focus on getting AC AND anti-lock breaks.

ilovetulips: The RAV4 can be ordered with a V-6, and the Subaru has a turbo option. However, the issue isn't pure horsepower with the 4-cylinder-- it's how the transmission puts the power to use.

The CR-V has a five-speed automatic, and the gearing in the low gears is short enough that the car has plenty of oomph-- 10 seconds 0-60 mph(maybe 11 seconds 0-100 kmph for Canadians out there, eh) is great for an SUV with only 160 horsepower. And the fuel efficiency is as good as it is with a manual transmission (which they offer in very small numbers in their middle-range model).

Oh, and the brakes are four-wheel discs with antilock across the whole model line. No big deal-- I think almost all the compact SUVs have that now-- but it's nice to know.

I have a Mazda3 hatchback, and travel was definitely a consideration when I picked that car. It is small and gets good gas mileage, but it also has lots of room for stuff.

Travel has influenced my purchase of a car also, but in a different way. I'm overdue to buy a new car, but thanks to all the travel I've been doing and the money I've been spending doing so -- I'm not purchasing a new car.

Yes, my daughter does have two car seats in the back of her CR-V and she still has tons of room left over. The boys have their own lights too, I think.

Thanks for all the explanations, rjw, I really appreciate them. They are exactly the factors I have been weighing. I need a better pick up from zero speed than what I presently have with our ever increasing traffic logistics here. My car is almost 10 years old (Saturn). And I just will have to get used to that wheel storage. And I know it is a factor in both. The new RAV has a slinky type of window (curves) and I don't think I like it.

I have to test drive both. But I will take your back up sensors into advisement as well. I have to parallel park in Chicago proper. A real joy.

Maybe I can get over my wheel storage hangup, if I got a custom cover with the White Sox symbol on it. It certainly wouldn't clash. But then again that would probably just be asking for trouble from Cubs fans. LOL!

Although somehow that trouble has diminished in the more recent years, and I just can't imagine why.
Double LOL!

RAV and CRV are two best re Consumers Reports in nearly everything in their categories.

Yes, and our DS's as well, after his first child was born last year. You <i>know</i> the paraphernalia they have to travel with when they come to visit us or the other grandparents. They are loaded to the gills in their SUV (Envoy). When they are here and we are traveling around to various places, we often use the 3rd row seat even.

And interstate travel (ie, interstate highway, but within the city) here is such that I decided my little BMW Z3 was too dangerous to drive in this area, with all the trucks. I felt like a little bug just waiting to get squashed. As much as I loved that car on the FL coast where we lived until last year, it was not a car for south central Texas and I-35. It was a '98 with only 34,000 miles on it, not a thing wrong, yet we traded it in on the mid sized model, for safety reasons only. As beautiful and zippy as the safer new car is, I sure do miss my little blue convertible. :(

OO, I also had a zippy little sports car and Mr.GoTravel was so scared I'd get run over by those big trucks on the interstate, talked me into trading up.

I still miss my zippy little car also!

How about buying a beater so that one doesn't need to worry about it sitting in an airport longterm lot?

Who can afford airport parking these days -- even long term if it's like here? I've turned to renting a car for the day to drop off at the airport and another when I come home.

You'll never get really over it GoT, but Mr Go loves you and wanted you around a while longer. :) Even in the bigger car though, with air bags in all conceivable places, if one of those big rigs strayed I'm pretty sure I'd be a goner--don't you still feel that way? At least now I think they can see me when we are side by side. Before, I was fairly certain they had no idea I existed.

Neo - Under $5/day with coupons at various lots outside IAH. :)

Yes - because we want to have funds availablle for travel we choose cars that are well-made (so they last forever and require few repairs), economical in terms of gas mileage - as well as the standard safe and good quality.

I think this is one of the areas in which buying quality pays off in the long run. Getting a car that is slightly more expensive but better quality will pay the difference in a few years - since repairs simply aren;t needed - and when you keep the car longer than 3 or 4 years it's just money in your pocket. The whole family sticks with Honda/Acura and none of us have ever had ANY repairs either before 150,000 miles - or unti the car was sold. (I sold my 8 year old Integra - 90,000 miles plus - for over $8,000 - when I paid only $18,000 for it originally.) Think of all the money saved in car payments - never mind gas and repairs.

J_Correa: My neighbors have a Mazda3-- they love it. We wanted something a bit more trucklike, but had we wanted a station wagon, I think the Mazda3 would have been on our short list (I used to own a Mazda truck-- loved it).

RE: Subarus: The mediocre interior room was the deciding factor (three in back was literally painful), and the fit and finish on low-level models was not great. However, high-end models are quite posh indeed. But try finding one on the lot...!

Oh, and I also looked at Hyundai Santa Fe and Tucson. Lots of features for the money (but not much less than my Honda), assembled pretty well-- but <b>Consumer Reports</b> had reservations about both. Still....

I just bought a Subaru Impreza wagon. Looked at the Mazda3 5 dr but the covered trunk area is not large enough to hold a golf bag sideways. Looked also at the Mazda5 but no screened trunk area. I wanted a covered trunk area. Mileage is supposed to be 29 mpg highway after breakin. Like the way it handles and it's peppy. I didn't think the engine was that noisy, but I am comparing it to my current car which has a high revving engine and noisy low profile tires. The AWD and largish cargo area, reliablility, mileage, and handling sold me. No need to carry more than 2 people on a regular basis, so the tight back seats are not a big factor.

OO, driving in Atlanta used to scare me to death.

I'm sure those big semis could not see me and it was just a matter of time.

As a matter of fact, I traded in my car the weekend I got back from a business trip to Atlanta.

Sigh. I do sometimes miss my little zoom zoom!

mlgb: The Imprezas are quite tasty little cars for every reason you list. The boxer engines in Subarus are really powerful and make a unique noise under full throttle and at idle (I like it). Had my needs been a little different, I might be in an Impreza or even a Forester. But every so often I really need a lot of room, so....

GoTravel - I was a truck driver, and two road rules around Atlanta make it super dangerous, in my opinion.

One is prohibiting all thru trucks inside the I-285 loop. That dump all trucks onto I-285, with no alternatives.

Then on I-285, no trucks on the left 2 lanes. That means all the trucks have to be on the right two lanes for dozens of miles. Meanwhile cars get onto the freeway, have to move two lanes <b>between</b> the trucks to get to the 2 left lanes, and then a few miles later, move through the truck lanes again to exit.

Simply ridiculous. No other major cities in the US prohibit thru trucks to go through city center, and few places have such strict rules for no trucks on left lane for that many miles.

No wonder your Atlantans are so scared of trucks.

I drive small cars now, and have no problem with trucks on most roads. You just need to know where a trucker cannot see you and avoid that. There are huge blindspots on the right side of semitrailers, so don't hang around there for more than a second or two.

Friend has a CRV and loves it. I did a focus group on small SUVs a year or so ago, when we got to sit in all of them (no test drives). I HATED the styling of the Toyota. The one that surprised me was the Kia (Sportage?). I think I ranked it 2nd overall, after the Honda.

I purchased a Toyota Rav a few years ago and I love it!! Our Toyota dealer here in my city is fantastic. They started in business in 1946 in Oregon and obviously have been in business all these decades due to their customer service.

I had looked at Honda's too but their rear door had the door that you pulled up. The Jeep I had previously did that also and I found in winter that when it was raining water would drip one me when I opened up the rear door. My Toyota Rav rear door opens from the side (like a refrigerator door does) and I like that so much better.

ilovetulips, I would recommend the RAV to anyone that was thinking of buying a small SUV.

The reason I lean toward Toyota is the reliability factor. I currently own a Honda Accord but wanted something a little different. The RAV4 had a redesign in 06 but still seems to have pretty good gas mileage for an SUV. We now have to consider the gear (car seat, playard, stroller) that my son needs when traveling out of town to see family. We are making our first trip this weekend since he was born so hopefully it will go well. If nothing else it should be telling about what size car we need to buy next year.

LoveItaly: Lucky you! The RAV4 is smooth and tight and everything right in a compact SUV, no doubt. The dealers in my area are just bad.

Agree with you on the side-opening rear door. The Honda CR-V's door also opens to the side; you must have looked at a Honda Pilot, which is the larger model. Snazzy, plush-- but I wanted the smaller one.

You know, I must add that I am so totally there with the beater comment.
I have had my 9 to 10 year old car side swiped, backed into both in my parents' Chicago mean street neighborhood without any note etc.. I'll be apprehensive parking a pristine car there.

Also the &quot;trucks&quot; eval. What you said does not really apply to I-80-94 into IN and MI from IL. There are areas in which there are 20 to 30 huge sectional semi trucks to every 3 cars. Really, even larger cars just can not see signs or flashed messages that are digitally supplied. It's the shipping lane across the USA.

Even in a full sized van, we have had times in construction while having to cross entrance/exit traffic to get to the right interchanges that we have been squeezed out. I've seen a VW literally squashed in front of my eyes exiting. I won't take my Saturn on it. I know better.

I'm glad to hear that the consensus is that people love their RAV4 and CR-V's. And I SO agree with paying more at the front now and having to fix less then. That's the primary motivation right now for me.

JJ5 - You're absolutely right about I-80 in northern IN. Guess what, they also have the &quot;no truck in left lane&quot; rule, just like Atlanta.

Results? Two walls of trucks in the two right lanes. Cars squeezing between to get to the left lane getting on, and do the same exiting.

rjw...I heard the Toyota dealers are much friendlier in Pitt..but only to locals. :-&quot;

Another ditto for a good Toyota dealer.
We've had 3 Toys and all bought from a Sacto dealer.
I'll never buy one at the Toy dealership in my local Automall after almost having to have my foot surgically removed from one salesman's bumm when he cracked wise while we were waiting for an oil change.

Love our &quot;Rav-ioli&quot; and we're looking at the FJ Cruiser because we are ready to take on the Sierra in the winter for a trip to Squaw Valley.

Traded in my little Celica and got a Camry once I was putting on about 3k a month as a rep whose territory went from the Ore border to Bakersfield.

When you do the math, 6'4&quot; goes into a small car only so many times.

I can only hope to afford a Honda before I die. ;)

Our &quot;cross country car vacations&quot; in the old '63 Caddy were nice and roomy!

LOL Kal, Rav-ioli..love it!!

Hi rjw, thanks, I do feel lucky! It was the first time I purchased a vehicle by myself. The dealership, with is Lithia, were just great and they have been ever since. I swear half of the vehicles here in my city have been purchased from Lithia so I am obviously not the only one pleased with them. I don't remember which model the Honda was rjw, but it made me more convinced than ever I wanted the Rav. And the Honda dealer salesman was so pushy..he tried to get me to agree to buy a Honda before I even looked at what they had available.

My daughter and SIL have two old Honda Accura's that have been jewels, so I think that Honda's are as reliable as Toyotas.

rkkwan, no wonder Atlanta was so scary in my car.

I honestly did trade it in the weekend after that business trip to Atlanta.

I drive a Nissan Pathfinder, which I love. We are looking to replace it (well, keep it but let DD drive it), but I do not care for the quality of the new Nissans. Had toyed with the idea of an MDX, but right now the Sequoia is in the lead. We need an SUV for the hiking/climbing we do, and because I am small, I can see much better in a higher vehicle.

DH drives a Honda, which is a great commuter car. He drove another Honda before this one, and they last forever.

Had a Jeep Grand Cherokee before and it was a lemon, so won't even consider that brand.

I just bought a Kia Sportage. Got out of my full size, V8 Dodge Ram pickup. I really did love that truck but the Sportage is really sweet. I did opt for the V6 as I just felt it was better in the long run. That and going from a big 8 to a little 6 was more than I could tolerate.

The safety features and the 10 year warranty sold me. Best of all......leather heated seats! Woohoo

Hi mms, we had a Jeep Cherokee also. At first it was great but than we started having one problem after another. I would never buy a Jeep or any Chyrsler product again either.

Absolutely! After traveling around Europe, I always wanted a Mini Cooper. However, I am a total Toyota fan. Like everyone says, it's a reliable car and I've loved my Corolla for 16 years.

Well, it's finally time to buy a new car. Corolla or Cooper?
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34845534

I was just about to buy my next Corolla, but my boss had a fatherly talk with me about 'doing things the same way but expecting the same results,' changing my image, etc. And then I saw the Italian Job, which made me feel like I'd look sexy &amp; hip like Charlize Theron if I drove a Cooper. And of course, every time I saw one on the road I'd be filled with lust (and a longing to return to Europe). So last week I bought my red Mini.

When I'm driving around Honolulu, especially the hairpin turns on Alewa Heights, I feel like I'm driving in various spots in Europe. It's like goign to Europe without the plane ticket!