Honda Car Forum

C. E. White wrote:
> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad.3@PremoveOBthisOX.COM> wrote in message
> news:slrnhdnd78.78e.aznomad.3@ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net...
>> On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:14:19 -0700, Ashton Crusher <demi@moore.net>
>> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"
>>> <cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:
>>>> Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my
>>>> Mother to
>>>> replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly
>>>> was
>>>> looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well
>>>> we
>>>> finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander
>>> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
>>> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
>> She doesn't like cars that are easy to park, safe on the highway, or
>> that can be
>> handled out of an accident instead of plowing its way through one.
>> Having fuel
>> bills equal to the monthly payment is also important.
>
> She bought a four cylinder front wheel drive Toyota Highlander! Come
> on, this is not a Excursion, it is a Camry wagon (more or less). The
> EPA rates it 20 city, 27 Highway, 22 Combined.....not as good os the
> Camry, but about the same as an Avalon and a lot better than any
> mid-sized SUV.
>
> Have you actually been in a Highlander?
>
> Ed
>
> Ed
>
>


I hear ya - I have a 4 cyl, 5-speed stick, FWD '06 Saturn Vue and they
(NY State and Saturn) classify it as a SUV. After I bought it and had
it in for it's 1st and last dealer service they let me know my "truck"
was ready. At the counter I told the guy "my '99 F150 is a truck - and
that's a small truck as it is when talking about trucks - This is not a
truck" .....he smiled and said that he knows, but they make him call it
that and he'd get in trouble if he didn't. (BTW - Gotta say that the
VUE has 95K on it and not one prob...Still won't buy another
though...they won't be around anyway by the time I'm ready to look)

I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it that)
because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the Ford
Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of today...I
have 2 kids and soccer/karate/etc practices to play chauffeur with and
it gets 30mpg in the summer and 27 winter. Some people are getting
conditioned to automatically see someone buying an SUV or say "why do
you need that?" and scorn you without knowing that it gets better
mileage than the car they're driving...Sad state of affairs in this
country...People are sheep doing what they're told, feeling the way
they're told they're supposed to feel based on spoon fed crap instead of
using their own noggin: SUV = BAD - CAR = GOOD. Get what you
need...Need the room but not 4WD or a 6 cyl...

Sorry for the ramblings...

IYM wrote:

> I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it that)
> because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the Ford
> Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of today...I

> Sorry for the ramblings...

It's okay, I was sad to see the only car mentioned in the bible be
discontinued (God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in his Fury).

SMS wrote:
> IYM wrote:
>
>> I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it
>> that) because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the
>> Ford Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of
>> today...I
>
>> Sorry for the ramblings...
>
> It's okay, I was sad to see the only car mentioned in the bible be
> discontinued (God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in his Fury).

yea, the Fury was the last wagon my family owned when I was a kid and it
went before it's time...It was the first new car my family bought
(replaced a Rambler Wagon) and it got wrecked in a snowstorm accident
when a lady lost it on a highway and came down the hill sideways and got
the front end in her passenger seat. As a kid, I thought the headlight
covers opening/closing and top of the fender amber turn signal
indicators were the coolest things! lol After the Fury, the gas prices
went nuts and it was a pick-up truck when we needed to haul stuff and a
Chevette when we needed to haul butt...

On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:58:23 -0700, SMS wrote:

> IYM wrote:
>
>> I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it that)
>> because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the Ford
>> Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of today...I
>
>> Sorry for the ramblings...
>
> It's okay, I was sad to see the only car mentioned in the bible be
> discontinued (God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in his Fury).

<GROAN!> GO SIT IN THE CORNER!!!

I actually drove the new Highlander this past weekend and I thought I
pass along my impressions:

The good:

- 4 cylinder engine has decent power and it moves the car just fine -
not much different than the V6 Freestyle it replaced, but ....(see
below)
- Transmission seemed flawless
- Great seats, better than the Freestyle
- Controls much better than the RAV4's my Sisters own. I think Toyota
should fire the guys that did the RAV4 and let the Highlander guys
redo them. I do wonder about the Japanese obsession with HUGE control
knobs,. Does anyone need a 2.5" diameter knob to tune the radio? It is
like something from a WWII Shot Wave Radio (ditto forf the other
knobs). (see below)
- Third seat is very easy to raise lower, much better than the
Freestyles...but (see below). It worked like the third row seat in my
2003 Expedition (but easier to reach, but not split)
- Smooth ride but .... (see below)
- Interior is ver spacious
- For only a couple of thousand more than a similar RAV4, you get a
much better vehicle - I wonder how many RAV4 buyer ough to look at the
Highlander
- I was really happy with how much car my Mother got for the money

The bad:

- The 4 cylinder engine is very noisy - much louder than the V6 in the
Freestyle. The engine noise is very noticeable, especially since the
vehicle is otherwise very quiet. It is not too bad at a highway
cruise, but very noticeable when accelerating.
- While the ride is very smooth, the car is awfully "floaty." Reminds
me of some of the old Chryler stuff or the Grand Marquis my Mother
used to own. This won't be a problem for my Mother but I'd like
soemthing a little tighter. Manybe the suspension fior ther "Sport
Model" would suit me better.
- Although the controls are better than the RAV4's, they could use
some improvement. The knobs and buttons for the radio and HVAC are all
big and shiny and not particularly well laid out. The industrial
designers need to tone this down, Form should follow function. The
controls should not look like some bizarre modern art sculpture. This
is something the Japanese designers are addicted to and it is starting
to influence American designers. The controls in my current (2009)
F150 are showing this influence. They are easily the worst I've ever
had in a US designed vehcile (but still not as bad as the RAV4s my
sisters own). The F150 has two many big knobs arranged in some sort of
pattern that is not really related to the function. They are arranged
to look cool. And this cool looking arangement is just silly. There
are decades of study available on how to do controls and the Toyota
designers have tried to ignore all of them (Honda is just as bad, and
apparently Ford is copy catting the bad ideas becasue they think it is
what sells).
- Although the third row seat is much easier to deploy than the seat
in the Freestyle my Mother used to own, this ease comes at a price.
The Freestyle seat was a complicated arrangement that folded into a
well at the rear of the car and it had no significant effect on the
cargo load height. When the Freestyle seat was raised, there was a
huge well at the rear of the car that my Mother found perfect for
groceries. There is no well behind the Highlander's third row seat. It
folds on itself (thinner cushions than the Freestyle) and the rear
cargo floor is higher than it could have been with the Freestyle type
seat. It is a trade off. Given the choice, I'd go with the Highlander
stlye seat, but I think my Mother wishes it was more like the one in
the Freestyle (which she could not deploy herself...I always had to do
it for her). I think the Highlander third seat is potentially more
useful, but I doubt it will see much use. Still it is very easy to
raise and lower. It would have been nice if it was split so you could
raise half at a time, but this is only a minor (very minor) complaint.

Ed

Well my Mother finally had a complaint about the new Highlander - she didn't
like the cruise control switch. Otherwise the car is great. I do wander why
Toyotauses that weird crusie control switch.

Ed

SMS wrote:
> IYM wrote:
>
>> I agree with you though - I have my SUV (and I hesitate calling it
>> that) because they don't make wagons anymore I guess...These are the
>> Ford Country Squires, Plymouth Fury's and Impala/Caprice wagons of
>> today...I
>
>> Sorry for the ramblings...
>
> It's okay, I was sad to see the only car mentioned in the bible be
> discontinued (God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in his Fury).

I heard that the apostles were "all in one Accord".

--
aMAZon
zeszutko at nycap.rr.com
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."