Looking for new car around $45K. Any ideas?

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
You don't need an SUV to drive in the snow. What dumbass told you that? And why did you believe it? Oh wait, tv marketing tells you that you need an SUV to drive in the snow...therefore it must be true. Congrats, you are a lemming.

Oh, does it snow in San Diego? How the hell would you know?

I used to have a car, and you cannot drive in the snow, PERIOD. You get stuck. Stranded. On the side of the road. I know this first hand.

Having a car during the winter in a location where is snows can be very frustrating.

 

[Ninjja]

Originally posted by: SampSon
Magnum SRT-8.

black on black

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
You don't need an SUV to drive in the snow. What dumbass told you that? And why did you believe it? Oh wait, tv marketing tells you that you need an SUV to drive in the snow...therefore it must be true. Congrats, you are a lemming.

Oh, does it snow in San Diego? How the hell would you know?

I used to have a car, and you cannot drive in the snow, PERIOD. You get stuck. Stranded. On the side of the road. I know this first hand.

Having a car during the winter in a location where is snows can be very frustrating.

K, two things: 1) the original poster is from Georgia according to his profile and 2) driving in general sucks in snow. It is worse when you have to deal with people in SUVs who suddenly think they somehow handle infinitely better.

Anyways, if it doesn't have to be an SUV, the Magnum or 300C would be good options. They're spacious and pretty good bargains. My biggest gripe, which I'm sure plenty share, would be the auto-only transmission

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: Strk
K, two things: 1) the original poster is from Georgia according to his profile and 2) driving in general sucks in snow. It is worse when you have to deal with people in SUVs who suddenly think they somehow handle infinitely better.

SUVs do handle nearly infinitily better in the snow. You can get out of nearly any snowy situation in the snow.

And bash SUVs because they handle well in snow? You know what's worst? The idiots in their compact cars who drive 10mph in the snow because their traction sucks.

In most cases, driving an SUV in the snow is almost like there is no snow in the first place. Plows right through it like it's nothing.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Phlargo
I think the Lexus RX400h would be a cool choice if you're looking for an SUVish thing - get the power, "gas mileage" <cough>, and space.

I test drove the 400h at the Lexus event and it drove like it was computer controlled... didn't have the gas pedal = torque feel and it felt "floaty" like a minivan. I have a '95 SUV and it feels completely different... are all of the latest/greatest like these ? It just doesn't feel like you're doing the driving...

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: Strk
K, two things: 1) the original poster is from Georgia according to his profile and 2) driving in general sucks in snow. It is worse when you have to deal with people in SUVs who suddenly think they somehow handle infinitely better.

SUVs do handle nearly infinitily better in the snow. You can get out of nearly any snowy situation in the snow.

And bash SUVs because they handle well in snow? You know what's worst? The idiots in their compact cars who drive 10mph in the snow because their traction sucks.

In most cases, driving an SUV in the snow is almost like there is no snow in the first place. Plows right through it like it's nothing.

People who drive SUVs in the snow like there is no snow end up in telephone poles or worse, in other cars.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: Strk
People who drive SUVs in the snow like there is no snow end up in telephone poles or worse, in other cars.

Do you have an SUV and drive it in the snow?

 

[Vich]

lol @ the car vs SVU in snow debate.

/pulls out the lawn chair

 

[newParadigm]

Dunno if anyones alreazdy said it, but an Subaru Outback Sport wagon would be an excelent choice (my paster has had these all his life, and returned an Audi A6 to get another because the Audi wasn't fast enough.)

 

[thedarkwolf]

If you want loads of power you aren't going to find a much better deal then any of the SRT8s.

 

[spidey07]

too many really good options in that price range.

What do you want out of a car?

performance? Luxury? Space?

 

[imported_KuJaX]

lol at the snow comments.

Get a Denali

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
You don't need an SUV to drive in the snow. What dumbass told you that? And why did you believe it? Oh wait, tv marketing tells you that you need an SUV to drive in the snow...therefore it must be true. Congrats, you are a lemming.

Oh, does it snow in San Diego? How the hell would you know?

I used to have a car, and you cannot drive in the snow, PERIOD. You get stuck. Stranded. On the side of the road. I know this first hand.

Having a car during the winter in a location where is snows can be very frustrating.

Gee, I guess it helps to know how to drive? If you have a tiny ass econobox with no weight for traction then I guess so, but most FWD cars are okay in hte snow. Some RWD's are fine too, all depends on the driver.

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
SUVs do handle nearly infinitily better in the snow. You can get out of nearly any snowy situation in the snow.

And bash SUVs because they handle well in snow? You know what's worst? The idiots in their compact cars who drive 10mph in the snow because their traction sucks.

In most cases, driving an SUV in the snow is almost like there is no snow in the first place. Plows right through it like it's nothing.

And this is the kind of person who causes accidents when its snowing out. Just because it is higher off the ground and weighs 5000lbs doesn't mean its better in the snow. Yes, 4WD helps. Bigger tires don't matter much if they aren't snow tires. And SUV's handle like ****** in the first place, so why would that help in the snow? Jesus you are a waste of space

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: Safeway
Not the Jeep.

I'd go for a Hemi Durango.

Durango = redneck soccer mom car.

The Jeep SRT8 is a cool car, go with that.

They are basically the same car, but I agree that the Jeep looks better.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Couple of suggestions not really mentioned already:

Subaru Forester XT (SUV, AWD, tubo, fast as hell!)
Subaru Outback XT (Large wagon with good ground clearance, AWD, turbo, fast as hell!)

A Magnum SRT AWD would be good too, but I'd trust Subbie AWD & reliability more

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: Strk
People who drive SUVs in the snow like there is no snow end up in telephone poles or worse, in other cars.

Do you have an SUV and drive it in the snow?

I do, and you're dead wrong. An SUV is certainly superior to any car in the snow, but saying that you can drive like there's no snow is just ignorant.
The people who do that are the ones who have appointments with body shops after the snow is gone.

You still have to drive carefully. 4WD goes better, stops better, and basically does everything better in any kind of inclement weather, but having 4WD doesn't allow you to just flip the switch and carry on like it's sunny out.

 

[BHeemsoth]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: EatSpam
SUVs are for soccer moms to haul their spoiled brat kids to the mall. Why do you need one?

Ever heard of something called "snow"?

Exactly.

Some people like big vehicles because they have cargo or trailers to haul.

I am 20 years old and I drive a Ford Expedition. Why? Because I want to, and I like having a big vehicle.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: rpbri2886
Some people like big vehicles because they have cargo or trailers to haul.

I am 20 years old and I drive a Ford Expedition. Why? Because I want to, and I like having a big vehicle.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

I drive a Tahoe because of several reasons. Race car trailer. Tools fill the cargo area and I still have a back seat.
I am a big guy (6'4") with a bad back, and it's been years since I've found a car that I'm comfortable in. There are lots of choices in SUV's.

All that, and also I like it...which is really all that matters.

 

[sniperruff]

oh man JLGatsby owns himself again by pretending that he knows everything about driving in the snow and assuming what he sees in those jeep commercials are all true

oh, volvo XC90

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: Strk
People who drive SUVs in the snow like there is no snow end up in telephone poles or worse, in other cars.

Do you have an SUV and drive it in the snow?

Nope. I drive an old Pontiac in the snow and do quite fine. In terms of driving in the snow, it comes to things like tires, 4wd/awd, traction control, stability control, abs and, most importantly, that lump of meat behind the wheel.

Anyways, as I said earlier and others have said, the Magnum or 300c. I don't think you can touch the performance for the money with either car.

Someone mentioned Subarus. I got to drive a regular Outback for a few days (non-turbo) and it was pretty nice. The storage is decent, but it still a fairly small car overall, so it might not be the amount of storage you want.

 

[SampSon]

SUVs do handle nearly infinitily better in the snow. You can get out of nearly any snowy situation in the snow.

And bash SUVs because they handle well in snow? You know what's worst? The idiots in their compact cars who drive 10mph in the snow because their traction sucks.

In most cases, driving an SUV in the snow is almost like there is no snow in the first place. Plows right through it like it's nothing.

Do you have an SUV and drive it in the snow?

I live up north in the most heavily snow ridden area. SUVs may plow through snow, but they can't stop as effectively as a lighterweight car.
Any 4wd or AWD car/truck will be superior to a fwd/rwd vehicle in the snow, but I've owned fwd/rwd cars for years driving in feet of snow and they work just fine.

Now I own a subaru, and it is by far the best car for snow I've ever driven. The only problem with SUVs and their snow capabilities is the false sense of security people get while driving them. They think they can just do 10mph over the speed limit in any weather conditions because they have 4wd/awd, but they never consider the fact that they have to stop 5000lbs of moving mass.

In my opinion the best snow cars available are awd cars/wagons.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
I do, and you're dead wrong. An SUV is certainly superior to any car in the snow, but saying that you can drive like there's no snow is just ignorant.
The people who do that are the ones who have appointments with body shops after the snow is gone.

You still have to drive carefully. 4WD goes better, stops better, and basically does everything better in any kind of inclement weather, but having 4WD doesn't allow you to just flip the switch and carry on like it's sunny out.

You might not drive like there's no snow, but I sure do.

Perhaps the 4WD system in my Infiniti is superior to the ones you've experienced.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
I do, and you're dead wrong. An SUV is certainly superior to any car in the snow, but saying that you can drive like there's no snow is just ignorant.
The people who do that are the ones who have appointments with body shops after the snow is gone.

You still have to drive carefully. 4WD goes better, stops better, and basically does everything better in any kind of inclement weather, but having 4WD doesn't allow you to just flip the switch and carry on like it's sunny out.

You might not drive like there's no snow, but I sure do.

Perhaps the 4WD system in my Infiniti is superior to the ones you've experienced.

let me remind you again: your infiniti is just a pathfinder with leather trim. it has rear drum brakes.

not that the pathfinder is a bad car.

 

[ballmode]

Infinity M45?

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Landrover LR3 - very stylish and a very good 300HP V8.

You want big & fast, well how bout a Dodge Ram Quad Cab SRT10. They are generally available for 5-$8K off MSRP and even have nice automatic tranny. Sure it only gets 10MPG but the SRT8 Jeep only get 12mpg so no big tradeoff right.

Cadillac CTS-V can be had for around $45K too as dealers are having a very hard time moving them. 400HP 6.0L V8.

Willing to do a 1yr old car?
How about a Jaguar S-Type R. Interior is mid-sized and the rear seats aren't huge but it does have good sized trunk and 400HP from a supercharged V8 to go along with it. Trans is bulletproof ZF6spd, same as in the 7series from BMW!