Need advice, shopping for a new/used family car

[Seanz0rz]

I will have to get some pictures of the engine bay with and without the engine cover.

Impressions of the car are extremely positive. It is quiet, very powerful but not harsh or overbearing. It is just the right amount of power. The infotainment is extremely nice. I thought it was still M$ based and couldn't figure out why people were complaining about the earlier versions. This one works very well, but the touch sensitivity is a bit lower than I would like; you have to press a little harder than I would expect.

The gauges are extremely well thought out. On the steering wheel, there are directional pads on each side that control their respective screens on the IP. The center stack is well thought out and the duplicate physical controls are very welcome for the HVAC system.

There are no physical door lock knobs, just red LEDs. They also have the capacitive keypad on the B pillar window trim. I will probably never use it, and actually have forgotten the code already.

Trunk is huge and needs some more LED lights.

Dash cam goes in Sunday.

We ordered these floor mats: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o05_s00

They are amazing and I highly recommend them. They are sadly not available for the 3rd Gen. Company is down the street from where I work too!

[paddlenbike]

Nice Sean, that is the same color we were looking at. Hanna really wanted red but the car we bought was only available in a wine-red, which we didn't like as much.

It's amazing to think a 1.5L engine is pushing a car that size around, and it does it well. I think you got one of the best sedans made, congratulations.

19" Ford H-spoke wheels are super nice.

[paddlenbike]

Holy crap, the Toyota front end design department is off the hook...I think the team was given two weeks to put the alien face on all their cars. Here's the new Prius.



What do you think? Gorgeous? Time-less? Sophisticated? Elegant?

[Seanz0rz]

Oof. Wtf is up with the reverse gills? Makes it look like a whale shark. That's not a compliment.

[Kryptoroxx]

Call me a loyalist or whatever but I never plan on leaving Toyota.

I guess it would be wise to shop around though whenever I do get in the market.

We would take a swing at like an 08 Camry or something similar just because of the trunk and the kiddos but I think we will probably end up with a sequoia or 4th gen runner with 3 rows of seating. I don't think we are done having kids yet. A Camry would be bursting at the seams with 3 seats across.

I would love a Camry wagon.

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[Seanz0rz]

Please shop around. I don't think you can buy a bad car today (except for some FCA products), but some are seriously better than others.

[Kryptoroxx]

We might have found something too. There's an 09 highlander with the 2.7l for sale with 53k on the engine. Pretty reasonable price at 18 and it has a lot more space.

Wasn't looking for Toyota specifically but I did like the ride in a highlander and the mpg is decent too. 25-27 hwy is just fine.

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[Seanz0rz]

Is that the first gen highlander? I like those. Not wild about the current one.

[YotaFun]

Congrats on the new Fusion Sean! Love the color! Been looking at the F-150 and that color or the Bright Blue.

09' is the 2nd Gen Highlander, which are decent, but the newest Highlanders are god awful.

I agree with everyone here, if you are going to buy new, Toyota is really not the way to go.
They still hold there reliability in some aspects but the looks have suffered, and the technology is falling behind.

From being where I am at now, and being able to work on and look at a variety of different makes and models and packages I have a good Idea of what I would buy.

From the american auto makers, I would stick with Ford for sure, there are a few models I wouldn't buy (Fiesta, Focus, Edge) but the rest of the line is really nice, great features, great power options, and reliability is still on the rise.
Chevy, while looks have definitely improved, and the technology offered in there line is definitely nice, but they still have to work on there reliability, I just feel they still need to much work for having low mileage and its not even wear and tear items.
Chrysler, I think is just a given, they just feel cheap, they haven't had a variety of different engine options in a long time, depending on the model or package you have to control the HVAC through the touch screen unit which is just horrible to use.

When it comes to the Japanese market is Honda. Honda side of things, the Civic and 4cyl Accord are great and probably will never give you any problems, the CR-V is a good small SUV as well, anything else is meh, my main concern is Honda's inability to make a better transmission for there V6 models. There interiors hold up very well though.
Subaru is awesome but then as for mentioned the CVT transmission is just bleh. And now stuck on every model, at least up to 2010ish, you had an option of the CVT, Normal Auto, or a Manual...
Nissan has some okay looking vehicles, but again plagued with CVT transmissions which even the Nissan techs attest to are junk, and they still have timing chain issues, something you would think would be resolved by now. I like some things they offer, example on the rouge it has 360 camera feature.
Toyota, needs to get there head back in the game, and not just put out the cool stuff on the Lexus line (i.e the new 2.ot in the NX) and start doing something, they have stalled and there design is suffering. The only thing on the Toyota line I would consider is a 5th gen trail edition and that's about it. The Camry is still blah, the yaris is ok for what it is, the corolla has a too much technology motor in it (more parts can break), the Avalon is just a ES350, the Rav4 has gotten smaller and more ugly, The Venza just makes no sense, the Highlander is too Big, the 4Runner is on its way to falling off the market, the Sequoia is a joke (but soccer moms love it) and the LC is too tardded up for its own good, the Tacoma is still out dated, and the Tundra need a better frame and a diesel option. They are still reliable because its all old technology but they need to get back in the game.

The Germans, it is a really close toss up cause they still all have to make strides, but you can't beat what VW is doing with there diesel tech, mate that to a hybrid system and that would be a pretty bad ass car. Mercedes has been putting out some sleek stuff and honestly whats been put out in the last 5 years is really holding up well from what Mercedes use to be like.
However I would still avoid BMW, who is starting to get away from the I6 models in favor of 4Cyls and Turbos but they still have a long way to go....

I know I skipped a few in there but thats majority of what I have put my hands on lately.

[Kryptoroxx]

Is that the first gen highlander? I like those. Not wild about the current one.

Its not the very first but its not current either. I stole the picture



Honestly we need space. The 4runner has it but since its a stick its only for trips or camping type stuff. Wife can't drive it. Stuffing 2 kids into this along with all the stuff that goes with it is not the easiest thing in the world. Now if we end up having a third we can at least squeeze into the highlander for the next rank or so till I can afford to get into a bloody mom tank.
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