http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...e-drive-review
Don't know if you are into diesels or not, but the new cx5 has one as an option.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...e-drive-review
Don't know if you are into diesels or not, but the new cx5 has one as an option.
Another CRV owner here. I cover a sales territory in the Southeast and spend a lot of time in my vehicle. Mine is a 2015 EX-L 2wd. From what I can tell, the AWD isn't going to do much over a 2wd besides hurt fuel economy because of the logic Honda uses. I've had mine light off-road (gravel trails, hayfields, power line cuts) a bunch of times and it does just fine. Gets 30-35 mpg consistently depending upon traffic. Style and feature-wise, it's not sexy or flashy but it works. It's kind of the un-car like Glock is the un-pistol. The hardware just works so you don't pay attention to it. It just supports you in whatever you're doing.
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
We've had TCEQ inspectors at the lab all week and they're in a Hybrid RAV4. I sure hope it works long enough to get them back to Austin tomorrow.
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Warning, long post follows. Skip if time is an issue.
First off, glad you didn't take offense as none was intended.Originally Posted by rauchman
I agree with you that VW's come off as a solid-feeling car, a driver's car if you will. The electrical gremlins thing is a big one for me - there was a time when I didn't mind working on my own cars but that time is now past as I'm a full-time self-employed mechanic and welder, and have been such for ten years this April. It really annoys me when features on a vehicle fail early and often, and VW has more of their share of these than some other makers. I have a lot less patience these days for poor design and really appreciate a vehicle that's A) reliable, and B) easy to work on when needed.
What I'm going to say is an oversimplification and doesn't play out over all models and makes, but my experience with German cars in general and VW specifically is that they are overengineered for what they're attempting to accomplish. This results in a nice, tight car but also one that is more complicated to work on. More crap has to be gotten out of the way to do a common task, and the logic used in the way stuff fits together isn't nearly as simple as the Japanese would have stereotypically designed the same thing. This becomes more of a problem when chintzy plastic fasteners are used that become brittle with time, or subpar electronic items are installed that then have to be accessed repeatedly throughout the life of the car to fix a stupid recurring problem. I even hate the style of electrical connectors VW uses.
When it comes to vehicles and even heavy equipment I generally prefer the Japanese method of design to either European or American engineering. German stuff is often overly complicated, American stuff is often overbuilt (often using sheer mass vs more efficient design), and Japanese stuff demonstrates a good in-between mix of intelligent simplicity.
For example, the early use of o-rings as opposed to felt gaskets on sealing surfaces is one thing I've always appreciated on Jap vehicles (as opposed especially to same-period American vehicles). O-rings are super easy to replace, zero to minimal sanding required to put the part back into operation equals less downtime, less chance of abrasive dust getting somewhere it shouldn't, etc. It's a no-brainer move intended to make future service as hassle-free as possible.
Another thing I like specifically about Jap machinery is their use of high-quality fasteners that don't corrode as fast as some other makes do, especially when faced with galvanic corrosion which occurs when a fastener is used to attach dissimilar metals.
All manufacturers have their examples of boneheaded ideas, and my preferences obviously are not be the same as others'. But you asked, so I did my best to explain.
I'm honestly not sure if this has come up yet, because I didn't feel like wading through 9 pages of comments to see, but check out the Subaru Forester XT. Make sure you look at the XT and not the X, because the XT has the same engine as a WRX in it and is sneaky fast.
Appreciate the reply. I've always wrenched on my motorcycles and your description of Euro vs Jap vs US is spot on as the design philosophy is very similar on the 2 wheeled counterparts.Warning, long post follows. Skip if time is an issue.
First off, glad you didn't take offense as none was intended.
I agree with you that VW's come off as a solid-feeling car, a driver's car if you will. The electrical gremlins thing is a big one for me - there was a time when I didn't mind working on my own cars but that time is now past as I'm a full-time self-employed mechanic and welder, and have been such for ten years this April. It really annoys me when features on a vehicle fail early and often, and VW has more of their share of these than some other makers. I have a lot less patience these days for poor design and really appreciate a vehicle that's A) reliable, and B) easy to work on when needed.
What I'm going to say is an oversimplification and doesn't play out over all models and makes, but my experience with German cars in general and VW specifically is that they are overengineered for what they're attempting to accomplish. This results in a nice, tight car but also one that is more complicated to work on. More crap has to be gotten out of the way to do a common task, and the logic used in the way stuff fits together isn't nearly as simple as the Japanese would have stereotypically designed the same thing. This becomes more of a problem when chintzy plastic fasteners are used that become brittle with time, or subpar electronic items are installed that then have to be accessed repeatedly throughout the life of the car to fix a stupid recurring problem. I even hate the style of electrical connectors VW uses.
When it comes to vehicles and even heavy equipment I generally prefer the Japanese method of design to either European or American engineering. German stuff is often overly complicated, American stuff is often overbuilt (often using sheer mass vs more efficient design), and Japanese stuff demonstrates a good in-between mix of intelligent simplicity.
For example, the early use of o-rings as opposed to felt gaskets on sealing surfaces is one thing I've always appreciated on Jap vehicles (as opposed especially to same-period American vehicles). O-rings are super easy to replace, zero to minimal sanding required to put the part back into operation equals less downtime, less chance of abrasive dust getting somewhere it shouldn't, etc. It's a no-brainer move intended to make future service as hassle-free as possible.
Another thing I like specifically about Jap machinery is their use of high-quality fasteners that don't corrode as fast as some other makes do, especially when faced with galvanic corrosion which occurs when a fastener is used to attach dissimilar metals.
All manufacturers have their examples of boneheaded ideas, and my preferences obviously are not be the same as others'. But you asked, so I did my best to explain.
Regarding VW, as mentioned I and my wife have had a few, and damn it.....they drive well, and they have electronic gremlins. I work just down the road from where Mercedez had their US headquarters and where BMW does have their NA headquarters. Working around this area, you would think everyone has some flavor of these brands. I run into people who work at these companies when out and about for lunch or running the occasional quick errand. In conversation with these people they all say 2 things about the cars. They drive outstandingly well. Electronic "issues" are very prevalent.
We've been lucky with all the VW's we have, no major electrical things but as far as over engineered nearly all the maintenance and repair work I've had to do on the 1999-current models has all been rather easy and certainly easier to deal with than some of the CRV's.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
I've had a lot of German and Swedish cars. I can generally assent to the criticisms, especially of VW. Their subcontractors for electrical systems, who I've had a lot of commercial dealings with over the years, are an interesting bunch.
I /vastly/ prefer to drive German cars. I usually lease them, and I don't ultimately care much about whether shit breaks beyond a three year window, and even then I have warranty coverage. I bought my first car in a long time in 2014, a VW Jetta, and it was reasonably well behaved, an awesome car in many ways, and wound up being spectacularly profitable for me to own.
When I looked for a hauler to replace it, I was confronted with the fact that I really put too many miles on cars in big D to lease well. I therefore had to buy a car, and if I'm going to buy a car and hang on to it it will be Japanese.
My wife is due to replace her (total POS) Volvo wagon at some point. I am forbidding Volvo (it's her money, but I wind up taking it in for service) and pushing her to lease a 3 series, since she doesn't get around as much as I do and doesn't need a hauler.
The best piece of advice anybody can give you, and I suppose it's rather obvious: test drive both cars on the same day, and do it multiple times. You're fortunate that you are waiting so long; no need to rush and you can wait for deals. In the meantime, you can have fun test driving the cars and figuring out what you like.
If a Subaru Outback would tow my skiff, it would be my perfect vehicle. I need at least a 3k towing capacity for my boat (1800-ish for boat motor trailer), but I want an outback badly...
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