Deal, no Deal. What do you look for in a vehicle.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Kind of a companion to this thread. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=9706976#post9706976

For myself …

Must have -
Four wheel drive. Including low range.
The more ground clearance the better.
Tow 5000 lbs
4 door
Room for two dogs. And luggage / gear.

  • or
    Room to put a bicycle inside. + luggage / gear.
    Comfortable for my Wife or me to drive. Adjustable peddles really helps.
    Roof rack.

For my Wife …
Must have-
Four wheel drive. Or some form of AWD.
The more ground clearance the better.
Receiver for bicycle carrier
4 door
Room for two dogs. And luggage / gear.

  • or
    Room to put a bicycle inside. + luggage / gear.
    Comfortable for my Wife or I to drive. Adjustable peddles really helps.
2

Good gas mileage (I generally go for subcompact, though I’m driving a hybrid right now)
air conditioning
automatic transmission

A steering wheel and an engine would help, too. :smiley:

3

I’m in the market for a new car right now, actually (earlier this week I started this thread). :slight_smile: The next car must:[ul][li]be a coupe[/li][li]have some kind of useable backseat/rear area (I need to be able to transport my SO and two Beagles)[/li][li]have horsepower that’s closer to 200 than 100 (anything above 200 tilts in that car’s favor)[/li][li]be new[/li][li]have a manual transmission[/li][li]have styling that I find attractive[/ul][/li]I really, really want a sunroof and heated seats, but there are cars in my short list that are missing one of those options. I don’t mind the one not having a sunroof so much (because of the styling), but the other one is at the top of my list and it’s killing me that heated seats aren’t available!

4

Must have:
Price less than $2000.
No peeling paint.
Runs.

5

For us (went car shopping yesterday, if the financing goes through we’ll be new car owners)–

Have gas mileage above 30mpg
Any colour except red, and if possible not white
Automatic transmission
Seats more than two

We were lucky enough that a Prius (the car we were looking at) had just come in from the factory shortly before we arrived–like, a half hour before–and the manager was confident enough that the financing would go through that he let us take it home. Really fortunate for us, as we’re visiting my in-laws Monday, and our current vehicle only gets 20mpg if that. Even better, it was the colour I wanted most.

6

Just curious.

Your first bullet was that it had to be a coupe.

Is that for aesthetic reasons (that’s fine). Or that you like to have a trunk separate from the passenger area?

Would a small wagon type vehicle work well for the two beagles?

As an aside, I have a sun roof. Never use it. IMHO, they are way overrated. I didn’t want it but such are option packages. To me, it’s a liability.

7

Don’t most cars have trunks separate from the passenger area? :slight_smile: The ones that don’t are SUVs, station wagons, and hatchbacks, right? I’ve never seen a regular sedan that didn’t have a separate trunk. Anyway, I want a coupe because I want small and sporty.

It might work well for the dogs, but wouldn’t work well for me: small and sporty != wagon type vehicle. :wink:

Then I’m sorry you had to get one.

8

You might try the Dodge Charger, which now has AWD. The V-6 has 250 horses and won’t drain your wallet. It sits on the 300 chassis, so has a wide stance. You can get heated seats and a sunroof also. Or bump up to the 300 Limited, which has all that stuff pretty standard.

9

Thanks, but the Charger isn’t really my style.

I appreciate the suggestions, folks, but I don’t need 'em: I already have cars in mind. I was just describing the things I’ll be looking for. You know, what the thread is about. :wink: