Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Midsize Sedans Comparison Thread
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Had an experience once changing my schedule to 5000 mile changes and ended up replacing lifters. 3K works for me no matter what the manual says.
I use Castrol Syntec full synthetic in my 01 Dakota V-8 and change it annually or 5,000 miles. Never tow and drive it very little.
I changed my schedule because I read in a consumers report about oil life. They said you could go 7500 miles if you wanted to and the oil still had life left. Lo and behold after a couple of years of extended oil changes major work was required. Never ever again.
-Loren
I have considered Mobil 1. But at twice the price of Castrol Syntec, I had to ask myself a couple questions. Am I going to wait twice as long before changes? No. Will Mobil 1 stay clean in my engine twice as long? I doubt it very seriously. I'm sure Mobil 1 is a very good oil, but worth twice as much as Syntec, I don't think so.
The '96 Contour's recomended interval was every 5k, and since that car saw track duty I used Mobil 1. It also had something rediculous like 5.7 quarts of oil in it. It never had a mechanical failure in 150k.
Chevy HHR- Cobalt underneath, PT Cruiser-esc wagon deal. For those tiny little windows, it had great visibility. It also had an absolutely amazing turning circle. The interior isn't as nice as the Mazda3 but the car isn't as expensive either. It held 4 big suitcases and a suit bag and a backpack in the trunk and a dog in a crate in the back seat. It had like 25k on it and drove fine for the 2 days and 400 miles I had it.
Pontiac Grand Prix- This was the biggest car I had ever driven (other than trucks and stuff). That said, it didn't feel huge when I was driving it. Plenty of room. The dash looked modern enough in form but the meterials were 80s. With the same amount of carp in it as previous the car had plenty of power, even on grades. Mileage was in the upper 20s. This one had about 25k and a bad wheel bearing so I can't evaluate the ride.
On a side note, the first car was filthy and the second car had a wheel bearing issue or some type of wheel balance prob. Both cars came from Budget.
The third car I had wasn't a rental but the MIL's Prius. I found it to be totally adequate in every way as a passenger transport but about as exciting as a box of rocks. I did get geeked out about "hyper-mileing" with it where you try to run off batteries as much as possible. I found it was very temperature dependent. In the 60s and low 70s during the day, I could go 40 mph just on battery but at night in the 40s I couldn't go 20 mph w/o the gas motor. Even playing games I couldn't get the mileage on the sticker.
Since you mentioned fuel efficiency, do yourself a real favor and check out the Toyota Camry Hybrid. It is a great compromise between a 4 cyl and a V6. It uses the standard Camry 2.4L VVT 4 cyl, and then has a 50 HP electric motor that provides a lot of torque. The result is remarkable performance--0-60 times that have been clocked as fast as 7.3 seconds and are generally around 7.7 (in other words, faster than most 4 cyls), and incredible fuel economy--in real world driving, most drivers report better than 35 mpg. (Check out the database at www.greenhyrid.com)
It won't cost you any more than an Altima V6, and it comes standard with great features like a class leading 440 Watt JBL 6 disc sound system and integrated bluetooth technology.
I'm a very happy owner of one with 11,000 miles. Its 6th month birthday was this week so as you can see, I drive a lot. Its exceeded my expectations in every way, and I can tell you, the fuel economy on this car is NOT BS. My best tank was around 38, but even my worst is around 35. And the thing is surprisingly quick. For a car this size with this many features, its a great package.
-Loren
I totally agree with you. This generation Malibu body style most definitely looks better than that of its predecessor. If the interior design has the right look and feel to it, and the vehicle's initial build quality and downstream reliability proves to be very good, GM may have a hit with this one. Only time will tell.
Ron M.
If you did not love the V6 power so much that you felt you had to have it, then it isn't worth the extra money, gas and insurance
I forgot that car existed.
but hmm thats weird, i dont see any GM badges on the side near the wheel wells.
For example, all of these next photos are computer-generated.
There are TEN different interiors guys! TEN!
Contrast that with this actual photo:
There are four more, but I will not post them. You get the drift.
I tend not to join in that game. There are only so many ways to design a car.
But then again, that's why cars like this are so unique--they don't "look like anything at all:
m1miata: Referring to an earlier post you made, the
A pillar is where the windshield is.
B pillar is [usually] where the seatbelts for the driver and passenger are
the C pillar is [usually] where the rear passengers seat belts are
The D pillar is where the trunk slopes back. Mostly referred to on hatchbacks, wagons, and Suvs.
-Cj
Honda maintenance schedule is available at:
https://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/
Both also common in rental fleets.
24K!!?? for a base V6 Camry!!?? Now I know I got a great value with my loaded Fusion SEL V6 with every option for 23K! Imagine what the price of the Camry would be with every option!?? Yeeeouch!... :sick:
Try the:
Kia Optima
Hyundia Sonata
Mercury Milan/Ford Fusion
Subaru Legacy
Nissan Altima
Dodge Sebring
Volkswagon Passat - Although when I priced they are spendy
Volkswagon Jetta
G6 was my third choice when I was shopping. I thought the GT version was a good value for your dollar, my second choice was the Jetta. Ended up with a Fusion SEL V6.
Test drive! its free! :shades:
It all depends on your needs. Get what you feel comfortable with not the masses. Let us know what you get..
I suggest you go with Accord/ Camry. Mazda6 looks cool and drives well - but Accord/ Camry offers better engines and better resale value.
I don't know about Aura - ask someone or test-drive yourself. Avoid XE - you deserve more than pushrod and 4 speed tranny. XR is the only one you need to test-drive. I have heard good things about the DOHC in XR and also the 6 speed tranny.
G6 is plain horrible. I have driven a rental one. Also, if you look at the prior posts in these forum, you will find that some models of G6 is more thirsty than some of the SUVs (those G6s have an mpg rating of just 17/24). Pushrod engines, poor mpg rating, 4 speed tranny makes G6 the worst choice in this category.
2008 Malibu
I too think this is the best designed Chevy that I've seen. I especially like the side view being long and sleek. The front and back are OK but distinctive so that's a good thing to make the vehicle standout.
The interior seem very vey nice but I'll have to wait and see in person.
The new DOHC V6 is what Ford should have done from the git go with the Fusion. Give it a modern comptetitive power plant. Kudo's to GM :shades:
All the airbags standard, :shades: again from the git go.
Stabiltrack on the upscale trims, good move :shades:
Now to GM Corporate, market the vehicle. Stay away from schmaltzy campaigns.
New weekly rankings..
Camry ( you expected...? )
Accord ( aging very well but still aged )
Malibu/Aura ( subject to verification )
Sonata ( killer value could also be as high as 2nd )
Fusion ( good/great vehicle ran into corportate chainsaw murderer )
Mazda6 ( see Accord )
.
.
Sebring ( we are in which century? )
YRMV.. Your Rankings May Vary
Anyone out there tried the Subaru Legacy basic model - not the GT? Sort of the forgotten company. The boxer engine and all wheel drive at least sound appealing.
-Loren
New weekly rankings..
Camry ( you expected...? )
Accord ( aging very well but still aged )
Malibu/Aura ( subject to verification )
Altima ( vastly improve inside )
Sonata ( killer value could also be as high as 2nd )
Fusion ( good/great vehicle ran into corportate chainsaw murderer )
Mazda6 ( see Accord )
.
.
Sebring ( we are in which century? )
YRMV.. Your Rankings May Vary
I like the backlighting for the gauges and the features available even on the base model, but I would recomend the special edition (one up from base) because the value/feature ratio is excelent (kind of like the Accord LX-SE).
The two features I am most keen on aren't offered by the others, and that is wagon body style and AWD.
http://www.fitzmall.com/carfind/resultsb.asp?Search=NEW&ID=018369&photo=TO072552- &loc=LFT&mall=GA&year=2007&mk_code=TO
Knock off a few hundred at least for the non-premium stereo unit.
If you were to compare that to something like a Fusion V6, you have to factor in the superior engine the Camry has. The Camry V6 is the fastest car in this class. It will outperform the Fusion by a significant margin.
New Malibu is interesting looking. The key for me is what the "base" or "volume" models actually look like. That is what tends to get me with GM vehicles--the higher trim levels look fine, but the cars that people actually buy (and therefore the ones you see on the road) look cheap. I'm sure it will be a while before we see an LS shot.
I like the look of the front end. I can't help but wonder though if GM is cannobolizing itself again--doesn't this car compete directly with the Aura? They certainly look similar.
Its impossible to tell much about the interior from photos like these other than the colors. I don't care for most of those combos, but I sure like the fact that they're trying to do something with it.
I own a previous (current) gen Malibu (Maxx). Its too bad that line wasn't a big hit because the car is amazingly versatile. If they were to make a Maxx or a wagon in this form, I'd consider it since it we have thousands of GM "points" built up (though you can only case a certain amount like, $1000 or $1500). Our Maxx only has 23k so i suspect we'll have it for a long time, or at least until it holds up. Based on the first 23k, I'm not convinced that's going to be such a long time.
In California, there are few variations of the Camry. For instance you cannot get VSC on a 4 cylinder Camry or the JBL stereo on an LE in California.
It would cost more to buy from Fitzmall and ship to California than to just upgrade to the pricier models that have those features on the west coast.