Inspired by a post in GQ about amber turn signals, what features do you look for in a daily driver vehicle?
My requirements:
-4 doors
-Good power, at least a 6-cylinder or 4-cylinder turbo
-Decent mileage, 25MPG highway or so
-Manual transmission
-Intermittent wipers
-Folding rear seats if it’s not a hatchback/wagon
-AUX input jack for MP3 player
Nice to have:
-Power windows and locks
-Amber turn signals
-Dual exhausts
-Sunroof
-Nice sounding stereo
Edit: Oh, and you might mention what your current daily driver is. Mine is a 2008 Mazdaspeed3.
My requirements:
-Comfort
-Comfort
-Ride (did I mention comfort?)
-4 doors
-Decent sized trunk
-CD and cassette player (don’t care about mp3)
-Quiet (should be able to back over a landmine and not hear it)
-Cruise control
Nice to have:
-Heated seats
-Leather interior
-Ride/traction control (I always set it to “plush”)
-Auto vehicle leveling
-Keys that remember which driver you are and adjust seats/mirrors/etc.
-Keypad entry
-Automatic dimming mirrors
-Heated mirrors
Don’t care about:
-Handling (I don’t want to know about the road, or hear it)
-Mileage (as long as it’s not obscenely bad)
-Color
4 cylinder
5 speed manuel
good warranty (when purchased)
good mileage (27mpg or up)
high seating (nothing low to the ground)
cruise control
cd player
low maintainance interior (very little carpet, color that doesn’t show the dirt much)
affordable payments
affordable insurance
Would like:
MP3 dock
four + doors (my current one only has 2, but the next will have 4 or 5)
room for camping gear
passenger room (another thing the current one lacks)
automatic headlight sensors (ones that switch from daylight running lights to full headlights without my having to do anything)
I have all of this except the manual transmission (bad knees = no clutch) and dual exhausts on an '08 Hyundai Elantra. I started though, from one important basis: did I fit well in the vehicle. I’m a large woman. I needed to be able to get into a car on the showroom floor, do minor adjustments to seat and steering wheel and be able to feel properly fit into the car with the seatbelt on. The Hyundai fit that criterion for about $5,000 less than my budget, and it came in purple. I was sold.
My daily commute is six miles round trip, maybe six and a half. I don’t much care about the regular to and from work, I want comfort and capacity and 4WD for road trips.
Power (mine’s a 5.something liter V8)
Lots of space (two boys)
Leather (again, they boys- they spill stuff)
Decent sound system
Decent mpg
Reasonably quiet
Reasonably smooth ride (last ride was a tank- hubby’s still is- he drives a 02 Land Rover Discovery II)
Runs on regular gas (my last daily drive took premium and got about 10 MPG- yikes)
Current ride- 08 Toyota Sequoia. Former ride- 00 Range Rover.
I’ve got auto headlights and auto wipers on my Mazda. The auto headlights work pretty well, although if you get in your car at night and turn the key, BAM, your headlights are on. That may or may not be an annoyance to you.
The auto wipers aren’t quite as good when left in auto mode. They tend to spontaneously come on during sunny dry days. I think it happens when I’m driving under trees that make flickering shadows, must fool the rain sensors. I don’t like the dry wipers going across my dry windshield, that has to do some minor scratching that will build up over time. So I just leave them off. But, I do turn the auto wipers on when it’s raining, they do a good job of varying the speed to match how hard it’s raining.
I don’t care about heated seats too much, but would love some cooled seats for summertime.
Auto dimming rear view mirrors are very nice, they vary the dimming based on how bright the headlights behind you are. I’ve gotten so used to them I forgot to put them on my “Nice to have” list.
Gotta have -
Well, of course I need to be comfortable in it. I’m 6’3”
4x4 (180 days a year is enough to qualify for ‘daily’ IMHO)
Good ground clearance.
Enough power for high altitude mountain passes.
I need, but not daily –
Towing ability.
Enough room for two-three adults, two dogs and luggage.
Prefer 4 door lift back SUV’s. Just works real well for dogs and cargo.
Like –
Good sound system.
The usual power group
Heated seats
I’m sorry, but if I’m GOING to spend $300 to (historically)$800 a month for 3 to 6 years, the last thing I want is an appliance.
My daily driver is a Subaru Impreza WRX STi. It’s got four doors, gets 21 mpg, rides like a buckboard and GOES LIKE STINK 365 days of the year.
It’s only got one exhaust tip…the engineer in me likes that as it’s not showy, and evidently it’s properly sized for 300 hp. If something looks zoomy, I figure it better back it up…and there are a lot of dual exhaust cars that can’t back it up.
It’s got all the badges removed, decals shaved, and the biplane rear spoiler’s been replaced with the more subtle WRX spoiler. I’m not in the mood to advertise.
6 Speeds, brembo brakes, and Snow and Ice tires make it rather dull in crappy weather.
It was also two years old when I bought it, so consider it 1/3 off MSRP.
Now…the NON daily drivers lack even more subtlety.
Comfort
Easy to see out of
Fun to drive
Good sound system
Good heating system
Convenient cupholder
Nice to have: Good mileage, keyless entry
Just a dream: Bench seat in front
ETA: I am stuck driving the SUV my husband wanted, which has a rotten cupholder but gets great mileage and has keyless entry. Other than that I’m SOL on almost all counts.
I have learned my lesson about looking for comfort or particular features in a car.
The only thing I care about now is price. How much does it cost to buy? How much does it cost to maintain? How much does it cost in fuel? How long will it last before it has to be replaced?
These questions are the only ones I care about anymore. The difference between vehicles on this level is outrageous.
It’s interesting how different folks define ‘fun’ or fun to drive. To me, fun to drive means it does everything I want it to. Well, within reason. No vehicle does everything I would like it to. But, for myself, my vehicle is an appliance.
There is balance and compromise. My Wife and I alternate buying a new vehicle about every 5 years, so we are each on the 10 year plan (at least that’s the way it’s worked out). We plan about 200-250 k for a vehicle.
When it’s time for a new vehicle (my Wifes Jeep is next), we look long and hard for at least 6 months before deciding.
I hate driving, but as long as my 10 year old Chevy Blazer starts up and gets me there and back, I’m satisfied. It’s really a poorly designed vehicle - blind spots, hard-to-fold-down front seats so’s I can put stuff in the back, guzzles gas, heater stops working every other year, has developed an annoying ‘squeaka-squeaka-squeaka-squeaka’, and in spite of 4-wheel drive, it takes 2-3 tries before I can floor it up the driveway in the winter to get into the garage.
I am told by Mr. Salinqmind that when the Blazer goes to that great junkyard in the sky, it will be replaced by a Subaru Forrester just like his, only automatic. I do like his car! It’s everything the Blazer is Not. (Between the economy and a money-sucking college girl in the family, I have my doubts, but unless Mr. Salinqmind wants to come home from work only to have to drive me around, he’ll have to do something!)
