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Comments
Accords are soft right now, in my neck of the woods anyway. I have a 2006 Accord EX Coupe 37,000 miles and I cannot get anyone to buy it for $12,995. Not even ONE looker!! The car is mint!! Ugh!
Paddle shifters perform exactly the same function as a stick shift, and both are worthless to me. However, they may be a good alternative to someone who likes a stick shift but drinks coffee on the way to work.
Not exactly. Paddle shifters only allow you to shift sequentially through the gears (you can't shift from 2-4 or 3-5 e.g.). You don't use them like a stick shift either - you only use them when you want to hold a gear (prevent auto-shifts) or force a shift (downshifting to pass) or you can just use them for fun, but you don't normally use them to shift for normal driving - that's what the auto mode is for.
I think most middle age or older drivers are more mature minded than you think and are way past that showoff stage. Driving a stick is nothing special. I think there are large numbers of people out there that can drive a manual just fine but actually prefer an automatic for assorted reasons.
About the only middle age people that I see routinely showing off are those that drive 4 wheel drive p/u trucks all jacked up, fog lights that are used 365 days a year and a decal of a little cartoon character p**ing on the competitor brand in the back window. Those are the real special ones.
Occasionally I find myself on a curvy isolated road, and use my Shiftronic just for giggles and grins. It's not a lot of fun, but fun nonetheless.
Who said you have to use them to "shift through the gears"? I used mine just to hold a lower gear while going through twisty roads so you could blast out of the corner. Or to force it to stay in 5th gear to avoid a downshift. I hardly ever started out in manual mode and shifted all the way through the gears. That's why I said it wasn't a substitute for a manual at all. It's just an automatic with more precise control. Like the old PRND321 but with more selections and no automatic upshifts.
As to paddle shifters, they came on my car. I wouldn't pay extra for them as an option. I have used them a few times. First was just to get familiar. After that, I've used them to move to a lower gear in advance of passing. Beyond that, I let the AT do it's thing. I figure the engineers are smarter than I when it comes to the ideal gear at any given speed.
As to the pickup thing, well, I better not go there. One simply wonders if they're compensating.
And get a load a this. Now I'm driving with my wife up to Elko, NV, for a job interview on Monday. That is an isolated mining town in NE Nevada that has a need for a Certified Respiratory Therapist. And things in little 'ole Willcox, AZ, at the hospital there are staying the same. Too much so for the both of us. My wife worked in Willcox at the same hospital I do. She already quit so she needs a new job, too. I still have my job but will turn in my resignation next workweek. I'm waiting to get my new job first.
My wife may be interviewing or at least talking to someone about a job in a nursing home's kitchen there in Elko. So our lives are gonna be a' changin' real quickly here.
The point I am heading to here is that Elko is a snowy, cold place that has long winters. I will take the '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS up there with us but I don't know for how long. It will give me a chance to see how the car does in the snow and ice, that is for sure.
We'll be going over Hoover Dam and of course, I'm gonna take the wife to Lost Wages on the way up to Elko. Duh! :blush:
And, ta keep it 2.0 Midsize here, I still can't get one of these Japanese midsize sedans in 2.4L 185hp 6-speed GTS form out of my mind. Humm.
2010 Suzuki Kizashi
One of the reviewers on Edmunds of the new Suzuki Kizashi says the midsize sedan handles the snow well. So there's my excuse to get a new 2010 Suzuki Kizashi, right? Right.
That is the one I want, right there. Same color, Platinum Silver Metallic. And the one pictured here is the GTS, I can tell because it has the painted alloys the GTS gets. Cool. Icy cool.
2011 Kia Soul Sport 5-speed
This new plug-in hybrid from Mitsubishi called the PX-MiEV might fit the bill better in snowy Elko, NV. This SUV has AWD.
The PX-MiEV has come equipped with with its S-AWC all-wheel-drive system (a similar setup is in the Lancer Evolution), but uses two electric motors -- one at each axle -- for power. The PX-MiEV has an approximately 30-mile range in EV mode, but a 1.6-liter I-4 can serve as a generator for longer trips. If those journeys also require higher speeds or passing maneuvers, the four-banger can directly power the front wheels -- something that can't be said for the Chevrolet Volt.
2011 Kia Soul Sport 5-speed
Average of 28 inches of snow per year and average high of 37 in Jan...that's neither snowy, nor cold. :P
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elko,_Nevada#Geography_and_climate
Today the forecast is 50 degrees for a high and it is currently 16 degrees. That is cold, bro.
2011 Kia Soul Sport 5-speed
1. That's because the Volt is an EV, not a hybrid. EREV, actually: Electric Range-Extended Vehicle. It only carries a gas engine to keep the battery going after it's 40 mile all-electric range.
2. The Volt survived the Pikes Peak challenge so I doubt there are any situations that would have a need to supplement the electric motor with the ICE.
Are you as interested in this Mitsubishi PX-MiEV as I am? This one would do us right in Elko, NV. I am shortly going to find out how our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS does over there in the Great Nevada Basin area.
But the PX-MiEV is a big, modern looking SUV that looks really well-designed. I am really interested in the "green" attributes of this larger-than-Outlander new SUV from Mitsubishi.
Enough on the PX-MiEV, this is a Midsize Sedans 2.0 thread.
2011 Kia Soul Sport 5-speed
(for the younger set, not myself...though it is tennis weather for me)
2011 Kia Soul Sport 5-speed
After reading online reviews of these vehicles, I was expecting them to feel quite different from one another, but after test driving them, I found they were far more similar than I expected. I only got to drive on a relatively straight, yet bumpy highway though, so I don't think I got to assess each car as well as I could have. Still, most of my driving is on the highway, so I guess it doesn't matter as much.
I'm coming out of a 1998 Neon, so needless to say, I found driving both cars quite a pleasure. Some of my impressions:
- I found the Sonata's driver's seat more comfortable than the Ford's despite the Ford having power lumbar support. The Sonata's seat was nice and fairly firm, which I liked.
- The Hyundai and Ford rode fairly similarly, though I think the Sonata was just a bit more absorbant.
- Despite having the smaller engine, the Ford's throttle response was more instant, and I liked that. However, the engine was noticeably louder and not as smooth as the Sonata's.
- I didn't really get a great chance to see how well the vehicles handle, but the Sonata's steering was firmer than I remembered it being in the 2006 model I tested a few years back. Sure, it's not as firm or natural-feeling as in my 1998 Neon or the Ford Fusion, but as with the ride quality, I guess I didn't notice as big a difference in the steering as I expected.
- The Sonata's interior was far nicer than the Fusion's. My mom came with me on the test drive and noted that the Fusion's interior reminded her of my 1998 Dodge Neon's in that it was fairly chintzy, and I'd have to agree.
Of the two, I prefer the Sonata a bit more. It was a 2009 GLS with a V6, had 9,000 miles, and was $14,676. However, after taxes and the extended warranty, the price rose to a little over $18,000, which seemed very high, definitely above what I'm able to pay. The extended warranty was only an estimate, though it was valued at $2,000. I know we could have done much, much better, but my main goal was just to get a feel for the two vehicles and have a rough idea of the car-buying process.
I think the 2008 Honda Accord LX would be my most desired car of the group of cars I'm considering because I'm going to have to keep the car for about 5 years, and it's the newest design of the bunch. I've seen some on Carsoup that have around 35-40k miles for just under $15,000, and I'm just fine with that mileage since I don't drive that much. So I'll test drive an '08 Accord LX and if I can't afford that, I'll try out an '07 to see how it compares with the Sonata.
Also, that extended warranty sounds like a ripoff - It was only $1200 on the new Sonata, how are they charging $2000 for a 2009? On this site they have the 2010 GLS V6 for $15,815, at least you could print it out and use it to negotiate with your dealer. http://cars.overstock.com/configurator.html?makeId=2235&modelId=443&upfrontPrici- ng=Y