Car review/rant

[rsbennett00]

If you're used to luxury cars then going from that to a Chrysler minivan is definitely going to be a shock.

I wouldn't buy one either.

I hadn't really thought of VW/toyota as luxury before now.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Its a Minivan. They are meant to haul a lot of shit or a lot of people slowly. They are very good at that. They are bad at being a limo, but good at being a taxi.

 

[slag]

Its a Chrysler rental car, you and your passenger were lucky to get to you destination.

All that needs to be said

 

[satyajitmenon]

Depending on the day, I drive a 400+rwhp MR2 on sport suspension or a rocksquasher that can unblinkingly drive over stuff that'd put a normal car in the wrecking yard. I also get liberal longitudinal body roll on application of throttle.

Plus I like rollercoasters. So, I'm not the best person to understand this "problem." :awe:

I understand it's not gonna be the most luxury ride ever, but damn. If that causes someone to need to take time to "recover/relax"...that's sad.

Well, to make sure this is a like for like comparison, you should try putting on lipstick while driving your 400+rwhp MR2.

To the OP - have you driven any other minivans?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I hadn't really thought of VW/toyota as luxury before now.

Lexus/Mercs? Toyota/VW... not so much.

 

[rsbennett00]

Well, to make sure this is a like for like comparison, you should try putting on lipstick while driving your 400+rwhp MR2.

To the OP - have you driven any other minivans?

No, it's never come up before. I only rent maybe 2 vehicles a month.

Lexus/Mercs? Toyota/VW... not so much.

I was initially trying to compare price for price but the jettas at half the price ride so much better, not to mention passats, a4's, 3i's, x3's and so on (all around that 30k-35k range).

 

[Meghan54]

The client was pretty perturbed by the time we arrived and it took some extra relaxing for her to get ready.

Good Lord. If a ride in a T&C minivan was enough to upset her, riding around in a circa 1969 Subaru 360 would have probably given her a heart attack or fatal panic attack. I know it's been the absolute worst car I've ever driven/ridden in, and this includes driving a Yugo demo.

 

[xBiffx]

Good Lord. If a ride in a T&C minivan was enough to upset her, riding around in a circa 1969 Subaru 360 would have probably given her a heart attack or fatal panic attack. I know it's been the absolute worst car I've ever driven/ridden in, and this includes driving a Yugo demo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSTtJirdyo

 

[rsbennett00]

Good Lord. If a ride in a T&C minivan was enough to upset her, riding around in a circa 1969 Subaru 360 would have probably given her a heart attack or fatal panic attack. I know it's been the absolute worst car I've ever driven/ridden in, and this includes driving a Yugo demo.

It's about expectations and perceptions. Try this analogy:

Let's assume you like the whopper and find it's $5 cost to be adequate. If you go to a steakhouse and order a gourmet veal burger for $50 and get a whopper, are you going to be upset?

 

[Elfear]

I own a 2010 Grand Caravan and the only thing I can agree with you on is the transmission not being programmed very well. Like someone else mentioned, it holds gears too long and then shifts slowly when I'm getting on it.

I can confirm that the 3.8L V6 has plenty of low-end grunt (for a minivan). If I don't ease into the throttle from a stop, I'll get tire chirp pretty easily.

I've also made the 17hr trip between Kansas and Utah 4 or 5 times now and the seats have never given me comfort issues. Although the 2nd row seats are rather thin due to Stow 'n Go trade-offs. Not sure how comfy they would be over long distances.

 

[Aikouka]

When I told Enterprise that I wanted to drive up to Kentucky to pick up a car, they told me that they didn't want me to take the premium rental that I had... even though it was just a base Maxima! They asked me if a van would be fine, and I told them that I didn't care. They ended up giving me a 2014 Chrysler Town & Country. Honestly, except for the somewhat boring interior and the lack of features in UConnect (keep in mind that I come from using MyFord Touch), it wasn't too bad. Frankly, it was quite the step-up in regard to features when compared to the fairly spartan Maxima. I like features in my rental car (especially automatic climate control) as they can keep me from having to fiddle with things in an unfamiliar vehicle.

I did also have the same issue that you did with hills, and while I noticed that EcoMode was enabled (the button is down near the hidden cup-holders), I didn't realize that caused it. Although, while I didn't mind the sudden lurching when going up a mild hill, I just didn't expect it. I originally chalked it up to poor cruise control programming in that didn't react quickly enough to changing speed and had to overcompensate on milder inclines.

 

[NoTine42]

Its amusing hearing praise for VW while dissing a Chrysler minivan in the same sentance because ...... http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Volkswagen_Routan
Yep, VW sells (now to fleets only) a re-badged Chrysler minivan.

VW was smart enough to use Chrysler's European-spec suspension, and used higher quality interior materials.

 

[heymrdj]

Very interesting OP here. Obviously doesn't see what people generally do to cars. Also, welcome to the age of fuel economy. You won't find any non-luxury car (IE BMW SUV's with twin scroll 6's don't count) that doesn't downshift on hills. If you're not downshifting on an interstate hill, you're not getting good fuel economy, your engine shouldn't be twiddling it's thumbs that little, it's inefficient.

 

[jlee]

Very interesting OP here. Obviously doesn't see what people generally do to cars. Also, welcome to the age of fuel economy. You won't find any non-luxury car (IE BMW SUV's with twin scroll 6's don't count) that doesn't downshift on hills. If you're not downshifting on an interstate hill, you're not getting good fuel economy, your engine shouldn't be twiddling it's thumbs that little, it's inefficient.

Sure you will - pretty much anything with boost will be fine.

 

[Meghan54]

It's about expectations and perceptions. Try this analogy:

Let's assume you like the whopper and find it's $5 cost to be adequate. If you go to a steakhouse and order a gourmet veal burger for $50 and get a whopper, are you going to be upset?

Poor attempt at analogy.

I say that because the OP didn't "order" a BMW and receive a Hyundai, did he?

And I was only commenting on the "fragility" of the female in the vehicle, someone who was "upset" and needed "extra time to calm down after the ride" in the T&C, something most would put in the hysterical category because a T&C isn't a horrid vehicle, despite how the OP tried to broad brush paint the vehicle.

 

[heymrdj]

Sure you will - pretty much anything with boost will be fine.

Yes you have a few exceptions. The 1.0 ecoboost in the Fiesta does make that difference vs it's 1.6 NA brother. However, larger boost motors just create more power and don't help that efficiency point. There's a certain point in efficiency where the engine is sized properly for the weight it's pulling. I could have a large diesel that never needs to downshift in the hills of Kentucky, but then I'd be wasting efficiency in the flatlands. Transmission is the technological wonder that gives us that, we should let it work.

 

[rsbennett00]

Poor attempt at analogy.

I say that because the OP didn't "order" a BMW and receive a Hyundai, did he?

And I was only commenting on the "fragility" of the female in the vehicle, someone who was "upset" and needed "extra time to calm down after the ride" in the T&C, something most would put in the hysterical category because a T&C isn't a horrid vehicle, despite how the OP tried to broad brush paint the vehicle.

The client expected a bmw.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

The client expected a bmw.

And when she didn't get one, her worldview was shattered and whatever was left of her fragile psyche disintegrated into the wind because she wasn't as comfortable as she wanted to be?

 

[rsbennett00]

And when she didn't get one, her worldview was shattered and whatever was left of her fragile psyche disintegrated into the wind because she wasn't as comfortable as she wanted to be?

Wow, harsh, I guess it's not possible to have a real conversation with the car forum. I'll get out of here since I don't belong.

 

[Zargon]

Wow, harsh, I guess it's not possible to have a real conversation with the car forum. I'll get out of here since I don't belong.

its never helpful to bash a car and then compare it to something that costs 33%+ more to it


also seriously, the client sounds a bit......touchy

 

[monkeydelmagico]

also seriously, the client sounds a bit......touchy

BIG money and tiny brains can do that to a person. Take the veal burger and serve it in a BK wrapper and see if client will touch it. Not a chance. It wouldn't have mattered if the van was designed by the ghost of Ferdinand P. himself it clearly had the wrong badges on it.

From the moment either of these two clowns stepped foot inside the vehicle it was bound to be a circus.

 

[jlee]

Yes you have a few exceptions. The 1.0 ecoboost in the Fiesta does make that difference vs it's 1.6 NA brother. However, larger boost motors just create more power and don't help that efficiency point. There's a certain point in efficiency where the engine is sized properly for the weight it's pulling. I could have a large diesel that never needs to downshift in the hills of Kentucky, but then I'd be wasting efficiency in the flatlands. Transmission is the technological wonder that gives us that, we should let it work.

You're also running lower RPM in a higher gear, and the beauty of forced induction means you're not "wasting" a large engine (unpossible anyway :awe - many people with turbo/supercharged n/a vehicles notice slightly improved overall fuel economy (unless they're romping on it all the time).

For example, the 2 liter 4cyl in my MR2 is effectively 5 liters at 1.5bar boost. Then again, I also give 0 fux about its efficiency.

 

[rsbennett00]

its never helpful to bash a car and then compare it to something that costs 33%+ more to it

And that's how I can tell you didn't read much of my post or the whole thread.

 

[Aikouka]

Also, welcome to the age of fuel economy. You won't find any non-luxury car (IE BMW SUV's with twin scroll 6's don't count) that doesn't downshift on hills.

Given that I drove the same model, I get the feeling that there's a bit of a misunderstanding after reading the quoted portion. The issue isn't really the downshift itself, but it's the awkwardness in how the car surges forward when it realizes that its speed has dropped too far. I saw it do the same thing on the way into work each day when going 40-45 MPH up about a 35-40 degree incline (purely guesstimation on that slope). You're driving, start going up a hill, and all of a sudden... VRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

To note, none of my other vehicles did that in the same spot.

 

[michal1980]

Given that I drove the same model, I get the feeling that there's a bit of a misunderstanding after reading the quoted portion. The issue isn't really the downshift itself, but it's the awkwardness in how the car surges forward when it realizes that its speed has dropped too far. I saw it do the same thing on the way into work each day when going 40-45 MPH up about a 35-40 degree incline (purely guesstimation on that slope). You're driving, start going up a hill, and all of a sudden... VRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

To note, none of my other vehicles did that in the same spot.

40 degree incline? where?

instates are limits to 6% grades, 7% in the mountains, most local areas limit roads to max 15%. even in san fran the steepest road is ~32% which is ~18 degrees.