A Fusion rated 4 star - The Jetta rated a 4 star. 4 star ratings appear on Cadillac for crash tests. A car can still be very safe and have a 4 star rating. The Milan does better in rear enders, so perhaps some better seats to protect the head. -Loren
I am sure it is very nice, but the jump from $14K to $24K is a bit much. There is only so much I personally am willing to pay for an economy car turned performance. I am aware it is a go fast car. It is also one which looks like an economy FWD car. Looks pretty close to a Mustang GT, or say a Volvo S40 price wise, if you could get a grand off the price. You can also get a Camry or Accord V6 at around those prices. Even if ran a couple grand more, in the long run, come resale time, so many other cars come to mind as being truly worth $23K to $25K. Does the car do what it is suppose to do - yes. A go fast little rock would be fun. I simply can not appreciate it value wise. If someone else does, then they will buy it and be very happy. I do see the fun factor. I just can not justify the price in my mind. So yes, it is not a bad car, and for someone, it may be their dream car - but IMHO it is still overpriced, and it will be reflected come resale time. -Loren
An ex-girlfriend of mine had an MR2. Revved real high, like the Mazdaspeed3. Fun little car, but an everyday driver? No way. She tired of it in 2 years and took a big hit at trade-in time cause she just wanted out of it.
Which makes current V6s, with all their power and fuel economy, so much more attractive.
So yes, it is not a bad car, and for someone, it may be their dream car - but IMHO it is still overpriced, and it will be reflected come resale time.
Overpriced? A hatchback with 263 HP, LSD, and a sub-6 second 0-60 MPH, that retails for about $22,800? This car essentially is the proper GTI that even VW can't (and won't) build.
Overpriced? It's about $2300 cheaper than the WRX, which set the pocket-rocket class on fire when that first came out in the US.
As far as resale value is concerned, the used market for a standard-issue Mazda3 isn't cheap. The 3 as a whole has held it's value very well. It's hard to even find a used Mazda3, let alone one that's cheaper than a comparable Civic or Corolla.
The MS3 is a fantastic value for the performance-minded young buyer that is tired of the WRX, and even the STi/EVO. You may think it's overpriced, but I think you're just not the right type of buyer for the MS3. It's not perfect for me either, but at $23K, it's a steal.
Most rebates are an either/or choice with the bought down interest rates?
Yes,they are. But my reading of the incentives here on edmunds was that you can currently get both the $1000 and discount financing (eg. 2.9% for 36 months). This could be an error, of course.
A JPG of the upcoming 2008 Sonata's interior has been posted on the 2008 Sonata forum. It looks like Hyundai has addressed most of the complaints with the center stack. At least, it appears the company is listening to its customers, and prospective customers. Now, I wonder if they've addressed the forward sloping seat bottom??
Who would buy such a plain looking car as the WRX for so much money. The Mazda3 will hold its value better than the souped up one; would be my best guess. Hope they got the air conditioning to put out more cold, as this has been an issue with the car. While it handles well, I am not fan of electric assist steering. They did however do a great job at programming compared to GM. Anyway, nice little car in the $14K to perhaps the $18K range. Looks wise its OK. Like the standard sedan looks better. None are too exciting. And I'd prefer spinning the rear tires in a performance car. Your right, I suppose I am not into the Japan econo car with the hopped up engine thing. I am sure there is a market for it. And turbo seems to be the thing again. Not a huge fan of turbo to get power. -Loren
The older MR2, which had a little trunk space, better looks, and the targa top, was pretty cool. Fun and a bit more practical.
I have a four banger now and want to go back to at the least a six, if not a V8 engine. Thinking of used '04 Stang. And if I had more parking space, would like to own an Eldorado. Could not afford one new, but would have the money to own a used one now. They don't make as cool a looking car these days. There is the CTS, which I think is a kick to drive. If I was to own a car for sport and practical transportation, it may be the ticket! In Japan makes, perhaps the Mazda6 V6 or the Milan. The Altima seemed like a good choice, but I would need another test drive. I have mixed feelings about the CVT one -- maybe the old one. -Loren
Yes, the Fusion lacks Stability Control, even as an option.
It is standard on the Sonata and the Accord, optional on the Camry (standard on Hybrid and SE, available on LE and XLE I believe, I'm not sure about CE).
The hybrid has the Lexus VDIM system.
I will fully admit that Sonata is the best value in this class. If you are looking for "features" for the price that's probably the car for you, at least if you don't want extras like a sunroof, 6 disc changer, leather, etc. Once you start adding on the Sonata, you get into the $21+ price range and I think it loses a lot of its appeal. That's just my personal opinion, of course.
Its not worth much of an argument about styling--I loved the Camry's from the second I saw it because its so distinctive. I will admit that the chrome grille makes a big difference--the Hybrid has a full chrome grill, the XLE has a chrome frame. I'm not a huge fan of the SE body cladding or the blacked out grill on the Camry LE.
I like the Accord's sleek styling, I like the front 2/3rd of the Fusion but hate its rear end, and I don't care for the Sonata--I think it looks frumpy. Mazda6 doesn't look fresh anymore, and I like the Altima well enough but to me the redesign was "why bother?"
I've never been much of a fan of the CTS though, but I absolutely LOVE the STS. I'd buy one if I could afford it. The CTS just looks too short and stumpy and the interior is inferior even to my Camry. The Infiniti G35 looks great on the outside, I never minded the interior but I would if I had paid more than $30k for it. Acura really nailed the interiors of the TL and TSX, but both of them need a redesign at this point (which they are getting).
Its still funny to me that the Galant never even enters the discussion. Who buys them?
I've been meaning to say this on here too--I had a chance to climb all over the new Sebring, and I think its totally noncompetitve. I'd say the Fusion had to be the main competitor for Chrysler (domestic midsize), and it came up WAY short. Styling looks fine until the back end, but the interior is lousy. I saw a Sebring Touring with a sticker of nearly $25k and that crappy 2.7L V6 that gets beat by Honda and Toyota 4 cyls, at least in terms of refinement.
I like it a lot. Looks way upscale than the current interior. Although still not as nice as the Accord's but definitely not far behind Camry's and better than Altima's.
"Who would buy such a plain looking car as the WRX for so much money. The Mazda3 will hold its value better than the souped up one; would be my best guess."
Different cars different audiences. Note I'm referring to the STI variant, I'm not a fan of the WRX. I don't want to go to far astray, but let's start from the front and rear legroom. I seem to recall the WRX has a bit more legroom. From there one can talk about what people do when they track and mod both car. After which you can talk about how well the STI holds it's value (yes, it's residual and it's only a guesstimate). Don't see the Mazda3 on the list.
HEY MAN CHRYSLER DID A [Insert your choice of word here] on the new SEBRING!! For the 1st time in many generations, it FINALLY HAS REAR HEADRESTS!! The entire car is [Insert your choice of word here] looking and the rims are very distinct! I don't like it at all. The avenger OTHO looks to be [Insert your choice of word here]!! It looks sporty and will do ok with a cheap looking interior since it is essentially a budget chrysler sebring. I hope it helps dodge.
I see the Sebring everywhere here. Is it even selling well? If not, i guess the convertible will change ALL of that!
Accord never amazed you? How about it's amazing maintenance schedule that recommends oil change every 10,000 miles? If you still want to visit the dealer every 3000 miles, Aura/ Fusion/ Sebring are there waiting for you!
I really like the dark interior. I like interiors that don't shout at you "look at me". Busy dashes and center stacks are distracting more than anything else. I see Hyundai doing a lot to refine an already outstanding car in the years to come. I look forward to seeing what they do.
Funny story about that!! We rent cars every summer and we have never had a sebring or a taurus! We had eclipse spyders(last generation), lincoln town car, toyota corollas, chargers, grand prix(s) chevrolet ventures, and even a nissan sentra!
All those cars were great! My fav was the corolla as it took us from miami to atlanta on 1.5 tanks of gas while spending a max of $30 in 1 direction!
The hardtop sebring cabrio should be a seller. Otherwise, i agree with you 100%. The avenger, WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY!
Where do you live? All I see showing up on people's driveways these days in my area are a lot of new Camrys. Hardly any American sedans or cars on driveways... plenty of trucks and SUVs though (and a few Corvettes!). None of these are fleet sales... we're talking homes in the burbs and Toyota runs the car show. :P
I like the dark and revised interior too. But what was Hyundai thinking with the current interior look? Way too funky and quirky for me. The car might have good mechanicals but the look of the current interior is awkward. During 2 test drives I couldn't quite feel comfortable with the whole layout and it probably distracted me from the nicer things about the car.
miami. Here the popular car changes. 1st it was the explorer. Then the Armada/qx56, then fx, then accord, then TLs, then MDXs, then expedition, then sebring(DROP TOPS ALL OVER THE KEYS!), then camry, 06 gs, and now the trend is the 1994-1997(gen5) accord. Its like that car is still in production. I see many sedans and unusually more wagons than coupes...
The Sebring looks like an attempt to capture the true ugliness of the Saturn Ion. They have succeeded in this attempt. Once again, a car design, and produced as one done by committee. And let me tell ya, those within the committee seem pretty far apart as to what the look should be. What were they thinking?
Of course others may just fall in love with the look, so ya never know. The Chrysler company has made a lot of bold moves. I can understand how some may even like the strange looking Caliber, but this Sebring is just a bunch of lines and parts kinda welded together, IMHO. I may be totally wrong, but I think it will sell so few copies, it will be gone in a couple of years. -Loren
was it not just a few years ago (5-10) that the ford taurus was the best selling car in america. with both toyota and honda working their tails off to try and catch up? then , all of a sudden, poof, taurus no longer exists and they produce some accord wannabe in its place.does anybody know what actually happened in the heads of those millions of taurus OWNERS that told them "hey , drop the ford... lets buy a toyota" in other words, how does a vehicle go from number 1, to ceased production in such a short period?
I think it was at least 10 years ago (the Taurus was #1). Toyota has advanced it's technology and design quality by leaps and bounds since then. Ford has basicly stood still.
Trust me, the Toyota Camry was better than a Taurus in 1996. Actually the best looking Camry ever. And the car was really excellent for reliability. Best shot Taurus took was during the days of the first generation, which had the Audi look going on. As far as outselling Toyota, that was done with rental fleet sales.
Newer Toyotas may be higher tech, but I doubt they are better cars for reliability, and even looks given the odd looking nose on the little beast. -Loren
You can still visit the Honda dealer every 3K miles for an oil change too. Now why would you have to take it in every 3K to Saturn, Ford or Chrysler? The short interval period on oil changes is optional. A 10K oil change I assume for an Accord is for Mobil1 synthetic long term oil.
Honda makes good engines - great race engines - good products in general - and decent cars. Nothing too amazing about the Accord though, it is a solid car. The Civic to me feels wrong just sitting in the Coupe. Kinda feels like I would be driving a video game - where's the hood? -Loren
Now, the Camry is overall a higher class of car than the Taurus (as far as ride, comfort, amenities, fuel economy, etc.) A lot has changed in the past 10-15 years. Reliability is not the only reason people choose the Camry, or Accord for that matter.
The short interval period on oil changes is optional. A 10K oil change I assume for an Accord is for Mobil1 synthetic long term oil.
Nope, 10k miles is normal schedule for 4-cylinder Accords, with regular dinosaur juice (plain oil). Now, the maintenance minder eliminates the need for the schedule. I have 5,900 miles on this particular oil, with 30% showing on my oil life.
I'm not sure of other maintenance schedule of vehicles in this thread.
Kinda feels like I would be driving a video game - where's the hood? -Loren
You're telling me you can see the a lot more of the hood on the other cars here? I'm 6'4" and can't even do that in my Accord. Seeing more of the hood doesn't help if you can't see the actual corners of the vehicle, meaning all of the hood (like you might could in a mid-80s Crown Vic for example).
Interesting. The longest I ever went was 7,500 miles on dino oil, but I did not have an oil analyzer on the car. Using Mobil1 in the Miata, I once owned, I had the change done with Mobil1 at around 7,500 miles. You turn a lot and I mean a lot of RPM on fun runs, and general driving on those 1996 models. It was always buzzing.
Have you considered Mobil1?
I have heard of long intervals between oil changes in Europe. Some GM cars have this oil monitor too? How about the Swedes? I imagine Volvo has it. Will look into this element of the car before buying the next one. Right now I have the one car, a PT , and it has a recommended 3K or 6K miles between oil changes. Kinda a rough sounding engine, so yeah, it ain't no Honda engine quality. I bet the Ford, Toyota, and other cars talked about here can go a good 7,500 or more between changes, if not in a severe use environment. My PT is not a state-of-the-art powerplant, but it gets the job done. :shades: Loren
Oh, I think you should be able to see some hood. Yes, not all the hood, like the good old days. To see the corners would be good. All I ask in todays' cars is to see some hood, as in getting some idea of something up front and where it may possibly end. The new Civic Coupe looks great, but inside is just to strange for me. The long sloping A pillar with second support pillar (what to call that one?) which is way out front to me is distracting. If other adjust to it, so be it. Don't even care for these real thick pillars they have these days on most cars. The PT is a bit thick too. The split duty dashboard command center on the Civic spaceship is kinda cool looking - in practice, I guess it is workable. -Loren
Looks like the Avenger may offer some hope in this class of Dodge/Chrysler. Better execution? From the photos, it looks more promising than is the Sebring. IMHO -Loren
Hello Forum users! I'm thinking about buying a Altima 3.5SE. That's 6-cyilinder as you all know. But My hubby worried about gas for that 6-cylinder and he wants to go with 4-cyilnder. Is it true that 6-cyilnder drinks the gas? Of course according to the mpg comparison, 6-cyil eats more than 4-cyil, but some people say that's not true in real driving. However, one of my friend who bought 4-cyil new Camry last month said she is re~~ally happy with economic fuel efficiency. She used to drive V6 Honda Accord (it might be an old car) and that was the car drank gas like a whale. Please let me know if someone has an idea for real mpg efficiency. :confuse: Thank you so much.
They evidently do use more gas, and sell in less volume. Seems the dealerships I have visited had few V6 Altimas. It could be that the old one had torque steer. The new one is said not to have that problem - I don't know. I did test drive the new 4 banger. The CVT, which is a continuous variable transmission does feel different. Some may like it. Go test drive the new Altima and then the Camry. Some, but not all, people have reported they did not care for the new Camry tranny. Go to the Altima and Camry forums here and see what they are posting for "real world figures" for gas mileage. -Loren
It's my understanding Honda's maintenance minder counts engine revolutions, as well as other input parameters. My biggest concern with this is it appears to consider engine revolutions regardless of operation - city or highway. Everyone knows that stop and go city driving is considered severe service, and this may cause a problem for Honda's maintenance minder computer.
I'm sorry, I won't extend my oil change intervals to 7,500 or 10,000 miles when I'm using my vehicle in a severe service environment - regardless who manufacturers the car. I will stick to a 3K/3 month interval. I've never experienced an engine oil-related failure in 40+ years of driving, and a couple million miles. I've seen the innards of too many engines that have been abused by extended oil change intervals - not pretty. I used to turn wrenches on European cars with engines that had extremely close-tolerance machining, and my experience tells me to stick to short oil change intervals - as well as a minimum of 24,000 mile coolant flushes and changes, and 24,000 mile ATF changes.
That's your choice, but why? You think you know more about these engines than the manufacturer? 3K is a waste of oil.
Considering the liability Honda would encounter by overestimating the miles between oil changes I'll go with Honda's recommendation over yours everyday.
Does Honda give a time limit in addition to the 10K mi, e.g. 6 mo. or 12 mo.? If so, does the monitor consider time as well?
As for other cars, the only one I have looked into this for is the Mazda6. IIRC, normal schedule was 7500 mi or 6 mo. For me the time limit will be the determining factor, as I only drive about 8000 mi. per year.
Also, I test drove the Acura TL-S, Infiniti G35 and BMW 335i last couple days and didn't remember seeing the hood either. I thought it's normal not seeing the hood while driving unless one's driving a SUV, minivan or pickup truck.
I agree 3K miles is a waste. Its only good for the Jiffy Lubes out there. They gotta hate these maintenance minders now instead of consumers just referring to the little sticker on their windshield about when to go in for the next oil change.
Wow, you're somewhat adversarial today . . . must have lost that Christmas spirit already!
No, I certainly don't know more about Honda's engines than Honda engineers, but I do have over 40 years of driving experience, and nearly that long as a master mechanic on some of Europe's finest cars, including some of the exotic Italian ones.
I repeat, I've never experienced any engine mechanical failures with my chosen oil change interval. To each his own . . . it's a free country, and you may do what you wish. I change my own oil (always have), and recycle it at a local auto parts store. I wouldn't ever consider taking one of my cars to a quick lube store.
She used to drive V6 Honda Accord (it might be an old car) and that was the car drank gas like a whale.
The V6 engines in the current model Accords are much more fuel efficient. I get about 23mpg city, and over 30mpg highway. The old Accord V6 engines were not very good.
the new Altima with the CVT is rated a couple of mpg higher than its predecessor, the same as the Accord V6 and a little less than the Camry V6 - and with 20 more HP or so and TMK relatively troublefree in the Murano. By all means do an extensive test drive, it is a bit disconcerting to many the way the car will effectively 'catch up' to the engine speed.
I do own one of these BTW, my wife's car an 03, she gets right at 26 mpg overall probably about 80% highway and absolutely loves it. As do I, it has never been in the shop - 70000 miles now.
Comments
-Loren
-Loren
Which makes current V6s, with all their power and fuel economy, so much more attractive.
A V6 Accord or a Mazdaspeed3? V6 all the way.
Overpriced? A hatchback with 263 HP, LSD, and a sub-6 second 0-60 MPH, that retails for about $22,800? This car essentially is the proper GTI that even VW can't (and won't) build.
Overpriced? It's about $2300 cheaper than the WRX, which set the pocket-rocket class on fire when that first came out in the US.
As far as resale value is concerned, the used market for a standard-issue Mazda3 isn't cheap. The 3 as a whole has held it's value very well. It's hard to even find a used Mazda3, let alone one that's cheaper than a comparable Civic or Corolla.
The MS3 is a fantastic value for the performance-minded young buyer that is tired of the WRX, and even the STi/EVO. You may think it's overpriced, but I think you're just not the right type of buyer for the MS3. It's not perfect for me either, but at $23K, it's a steal.
Yes,they are. But my reading of the incentives here on edmunds was that you can currently get both the $1000 and discount financing (eg. 2.9% for 36 months). This could be an error, of course.
-Loren
I have a four banger now and want to go back to at the least a six, if not a V8 engine. Thinking of used '04 Stang. And if I had more parking space, would like to own an Eldorado. Could not afford one new, but would have the money to own a used one now. They don't make as cool a looking car these days. There is the CTS, which I think is a kick to drive. If I was to own a car for sport and practical transportation, it may be the ticket! In Japan makes, perhaps the Mazda6 V6 or the Milan. The Altima seemed like a good choice, but I would need another test drive. I have mixed feelings about the CVT one -- maybe the old one.
-Loren
It is standard on the Sonata and the Accord, optional on the Camry (standard on Hybrid and SE, available on LE and XLE I believe, I'm not sure about CE).
The hybrid has the Lexus VDIM system.
I will fully admit that Sonata is the best value in this class. If you are looking for "features" for the price that's probably the car for you, at least if you don't want extras like a sunroof, 6 disc changer, leather, etc. Once you start adding on the Sonata, you get into the $21+ price range and I think it loses a lot of its appeal. That's just my personal opinion, of course.
Its not worth much of an argument about styling--I loved the Camry's from the second I saw it because its so distinctive. I will admit that the chrome grille makes a big difference--the Hybrid has a full chrome grill, the XLE has a chrome frame. I'm not a huge fan of the SE body cladding or the blacked out grill on the Camry LE.
I like the Accord's sleek styling, I like the front 2/3rd of the Fusion but hate its rear end, and I don't care for the Sonata--I think it looks frumpy. Mazda6 doesn't look fresh anymore, and I like the Altima well enough but to me the redesign was "why bother?"
I've never been much of a fan of the CTS though, but I absolutely LOVE the STS. I'd buy one if I could afford it. The CTS just looks too short and stumpy and the interior is inferior even to my Camry. The Infiniti G35 looks great on the outside, I never minded the interior but I would if I had paid more than $30k for it. Acura really nailed the interiors of the TL and TSX, but both of them need a redesign at this point (which they are getting).
Its still funny to me that the Galant never even enters the discussion. Who buys them?
I've been meaning to say this on here too--I had a chance to climb all over the new Sebring, and I think its totally noncompetitve. I'd say the Fusion had to be the main competitor for Chrysler (domestic midsize), and it came up WAY short. Styling looks fine until the back end, but the interior is lousy. I saw a Sebring Touring with a sticker of nearly $25k and that crappy 2.7L V6 that gets beat by Honda and Toyota 4 cyls, at least in terms of refinement.
What was Chrysler THINKING?
I like it a lot. Looks way upscale than the current interior. Although still not as nice as the Accord's but definitely not far behind Camry's and better than Altima's.
They also have no steering wheel controls and still have the ugly cheap corporate cruise control stalk in the new Sebring. :confuse:
The devil's in them details and its like they never quite get it all.
Different cars different audiences. Note I'm referring to the STI variant, I'm not a fan of the WRX. I don't want to go to far astray, but let's start from the front and rear legroom. I seem to recall the WRX has a bit more legroom. From there one can talk about what people do when they track and mod both car. After which you can talk about how well the STI holds it's value (yes, it's residual and it's only a guesstimate). Don't see the Mazda3 on the list.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/115129/article.html
There is a huge market for the STI. I understand you are not a fan of them.
I see the Sebring everywhere here. Is it even selling well? If not, i guess the convertible will change ALL of that!
-Cj :P
I think you need to re-read my previous post...
All those cars were great! My fav was the corolla as it took us from miami to atlanta on 1.5 tanks of gas while spending a max of $30 in 1 direction!
The hardtop sebring cabrio should be a seller. Otherwise, i agree with you 100%. The avenger, WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY!
-Cj
Where do you live? All I see showing up on people's driveways these days in my area are a lot of new Camrys. Hardly any American sedans or cars on driveways... plenty of trucks and SUVs though (and a few Corvettes!). None of these are fleet sales... we're talking homes in the burbs and Toyota runs the car show. :P
-Cj I ♥ CHOICES
Of course others may just fall in love with the look, so ya never know. The Chrysler company has made a lot of bold moves. I can understand how some may even like the strange looking Caliber, but this Sebring is just a bunch of lines and parts kinda welded together, IMHO. I may be totally wrong, but I think it will sell so few copies, it will be gone in a couple of years.
-Loren
Why not tell us how you really feel about the new Sebring...
Maybe you're just seeing all the rental cars in town for the Xmas/Hanukkah holiday.
Just in Miami-Dade/Broward/Palm Beach counties alone BMW probably breaks even for the whole US market.
Ford cars seem to be scorned.
Newer Toyotas may be higher tech, but I doubt they are better cars for reliability, and even looks given the odd looking nose on the little beast.
-Loren
Honda makes good engines - great race engines - good products in general - and decent cars. Nothing too amazing about the Accord though, it is a solid car. The Civic to me feels wrong just sitting in the Coupe. Kinda feels like I would be driving a video game - where's the hood?
-Loren
Stay tuned...
Nope, 10k miles is normal schedule for 4-cylinder Accords, with regular dinosaur juice (plain oil). Now, the maintenance minder eliminates the need for the schedule. I have 5,900 miles on this particular oil, with 30% showing on my oil life.
I'm not sure of other maintenance schedule of vehicles in this thread.
-Loren
You're telling me you can see the a lot more of the hood on the other cars here? I'm 6'4" and can't even do that in my Accord. Seeing more of the hood doesn't help if you can't see the actual corners of the vehicle, meaning all of the hood (like you might could in a mid-80s Crown Vic for example).
Have you considered Mobil1?
I have heard of long intervals between oil changes in Europe. Some GM cars have this oil monitor too? How about the Swedes? I imagine Volvo has it. Will look into this element of the car before buying the next one. Right now I have the one car, a PT , and it has a recommended 3K or 6K miles between oil changes. Kinda a rough sounding engine, so yeah, it ain't no Honda engine quality. I bet the Ford, Toyota, and other cars talked about here can go a good 7,500 or more between changes, if not in a severe use environment. My PT is not a state-of-the-art powerplant, but it gets the job done. :shades:
Loren
The split duty dashboard command center on the Civic spaceship is kinda cool looking - in practice, I guess it is workable.
-Loren
-Loren
I'm thinking about buying a Altima 3.5SE. That's 6-cyilinder as you all know. But My hubby worried about gas for that 6-cylinder and he wants to go with 4-cyilnder. Is it true that 6-cyilnder drinks the gas? Of course according to the mpg comparison, 6-cyil eats more than 4-cyil, but some people say that's not true in real driving. However, one of my friend who bought 4-cyil new Camry last month said she is re~~ally happy with economic fuel efficiency. She used to drive V6 Honda Accord (it might be an old car) and that was the car drank gas like a whale.
Please let me know if someone has an idea for real mpg efficiency. :confuse:
Thank you so much.
-Loren
I'm sorry, I won't extend my oil change intervals to 7,500 or 10,000 miles when I'm using my vehicle in a severe service environment - regardless who manufacturers the car. I will stick to a 3K/3 month interval. I've never experienced an engine oil-related failure in 40+ years of driving, and a couple million miles. I've seen the innards of too many engines that have been abused by extended oil change intervals - not pretty. I used to turn wrenches on European cars with engines that had extremely close-tolerance machining, and my experience tells me to stick to short oil change intervals - as well as a minimum of 24,000 mile coolant flushes and changes, and 24,000 mile ATF changes.
That's your choice, but why? You think you know more about these engines than the manufacturer? 3K is a waste of oil.
Considering the liability Honda would encounter by overestimating the miles between oil changes I'll go with Honda's recommendation over yours everyday.
As for other cars, the only one I have looked into this for is the Mazda6. IIRC, normal schedule was 7500 mi or 6 mo. For me the time limit will be the determining factor, as I only drive about 8000 mi. per year.
Cars I have driven and couldn't see the hood:
90' Acura Legend
97' Honda Accord
99' Toyota Camry
06' Lexus IS350
Also, I test drove the Acura TL-S, Infiniti G35 and BMW 335i last couple days and didn't remember seeing the hood either. I thought it's normal not seeing the hood while driving unless one's driving a SUV, minivan or pickup truck.
Wow that's low. A lease would probably be beneficial for you at that amount of (non)use.
No, I certainly don't know more about Honda's engines than Honda engineers, but I do have over 40 years of driving experience, and nearly that long as a master mechanic on some of Europe's finest cars, including some of the exotic Italian ones.
I repeat, I've never experienced any engine mechanical failures with my chosen oil change interval. To each his own . . . it's a free country, and you may do what you wish. I change my own oil (always have), and recycle it at a local auto parts store. I wouldn't ever consider taking one of my cars to a quick lube store.
The V6 engines in the current model Accords are much more fuel efficient. I get about 23mpg city, and over 30mpg highway. The old Accord V6 engines were not very good.