Car update...
Feb. 22nd, 2006 07:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseJust for the heck of it, I went and test-drove a Focus yesterday. Impressions follow:
1] While it wasn't a luxurymobile by any standards, I was rather impressed with how it drove; it was quite a smooth ride and a very peppy little car. It accellerates faster and has nicer shocks than Marian (though that's probably because it's a more technologically advanced car, not to mention newer). The handling is also quite nimble with very sharp steering. One of the things I really liked about it was that it was so maneuverable - I was able to very easily make a U-turn at the end of a road that would've definitely required a 3-point turn from Marian. (I couldn't help but go "Wheeee!" while turning. :)
2] The seats were comfortable, if a bit small. One of the things that sort of cracked me up was this: My dad bought a Focus back when they first came out, which was a few years after my parents divorced. I assume it was all he could afford (my dad's always had this thing about getting brand-new stuff, which I suppose is why he didn't just buy a good used car), because while the Focus was about the perfect size for me, my father is about 6'6" and very broad across the shoulders. Brian felt like the seat would be uncomfortable after a while, and he's the same height as me (just a little broader). My dad must've been folded up like he was driving a clown car...
2b] I'll be the first to admit that the Focus isn't a roadtripmobile. Even I (who seem to have a butt just about the right size for the seat) would probably get pretty tired of it eventually. However, considering that (a) I live in Juneau, where there isn't exactly anywhere to take a road trip to, and (b) Brian's saving up for a Chrysler 300C, which is one of the ultimate roadtripmobiles, I don't think that's going to be too much of a consideration. In fact, gas-wise, it's just about the perfect car for Juneau, which is almost completely city driving.
3] The styling is very fun. I really like the control scheme and the general feel of the car; it's very Europop. You can tell that they're trying to market it to people of my demographic rather than older people who would probably prefer the classier feel of a Civic or a Mazda. A Focus is more the type of car in which you'd ride down the street blasting Dune than Vivaldi.
On the downside:
1] It's not going to be great in the snow. Admittedly, you can get it with anti-lock brakes, which are *very* nice (Brian thinks, and I agree, that they should be a federally mandated safety feature), but the fact is it's just not a snow car. With winter tires it'd probably handle okay on slick roads, but it's just not tall enough or heavy enough to deal with a lot of snowfall.
2] While it feels and handles like a well-built car that's not likely to fall apart anytime soon, it's just not as nice as (say) a Civic or a Mazda3. The interior materials are a little on the cheap and plasticy side, and while the controls are pretty well laid out, the whole inside falls pretty firmly in the "mostly okay" category. Again, you can see that they're marketing it to college students and the like.
On the whole, I'd probably give it a four out of five stars; three and a half for the handling, styling, and maneuverability, and half a star for the upper-decent gas mileage.
In any case, I decided (just for the heck of it) to see what I could get for a loan/insurance rate. I found out that Progressive actually wants a fair amount less than Geico ($750-$800 rather than $950), which is nice; I also put in my info at Lending Tree and Wells Fargo to see what I could get in terms of loan rates. Here's where it gets interesting: Wells Fargo, with whom I've been my entire banking life and whom I've never missed a payment with on my credit card, wouldn't give me a loan (I assume because of my relatively short credit history). However, Lending Tree came back with an offer of financing from Capital One Auto Loans (whom I've never talked to before in my life), at 6.5% - a good percentage point lower than the current market rate. I find this very amusing, somehow.
This is all still very much in the "eh, maybe" category, but I figure it can't hurt to have the extra information...
Although, incidentally, the license plate "RITLIN" is currently available in AK. =D
1] While it wasn't a luxurymobile by any standards, I was rather impressed with how it drove; it was quite a smooth ride and a very peppy little car. It accellerates faster and has nicer shocks than Marian (though that's probably because it's a more technologically advanced car, not to mention newer). The handling is also quite nimble with very sharp steering. One of the things I really liked about it was that it was so maneuverable - I was able to very easily make a U-turn at the end of a road that would've definitely required a 3-point turn from Marian. (I couldn't help but go "Wheeee!" while turning. :)
2] The seats were comfortable, if a bit small. One of the things that sort of cracked me up was this: My dad bought a Focus back when they first came out, which was a few years after my parents divorced. I assume it was all he could afford (my dad's always had this thing about getting brand-new stuff, which I suppose is why he didn't just buy a good used car), because while the Focus was about the perfect size for me, my father is about 6'6" and very broad across the shoulders. Brian felt like the seat would be uncomfortable after a while, and he's the same height as me (just a little broader). My dad must've been folded up like he was driving a clown car...
2b] I'll be the first to admit that the Focus isn't a roadtripmobile. Even I (who seem to have a butt just about the right size for the seat) would probably get pretty tired of it eventually. However, considering that (a) I live in Juneau, where there isn't exactly anywhere to take a road trip to, and (b) Brian's saving up for a Chrysler 300C, which is one of the ultimate roadtripmobiles, I don't think that's going to be too much of a consideration. In fact, gas-wise, it's just about the perfect car for Juneau, which is almost completely city driving.
3] The styling is very fun. I really like the control scheme and the general feel of the car; it's very Europop. You can tell that they're trying to market it to people of my demographic rather than older people who would probably prefer the classier feel of a Civic or a Mazda. A Focus is more the type of car in which you'd ride down the street blasting Dune than Vivaldi.
On the downside:
1] It's not going to be great in the snow. Admittedly, you can get it with anti-lock brakes, which are *very* nice (Brian thinks, and I agree, that they should be a federally mandated safety feature), but the fact is it's just not a snow car. With winter tires it'd probably handle okay on slick roads, but it's just not tall enough or heavy enough to deal with a lot of snowfall.
2] While it feels and handles like a well-built car that's not likely to fall apart anytime soon, it's just not as nice as (say) a Civic or a Mazda3. The interior materials are a little on the cheap and plasticy side, and while the controls are pretty well laid out, the whole inside falls pretty firmly in the "mostly okay" category. Again, you can see that they're marketing it to college students and the like.
On the whole, I'd probably give it a four out of five stars; three and a half for the handling, styling, and maneuverability, and half a star for the upper-decent gas mileage.
In any case, I decided (just for the heck of it) to see what I could get for a loan/insurance rate. I found out that Progressive actually wants a fair amount less than Geico ($750-$800 rather than $950), which is nice; I also put in my info at Lending Tree and Wells Fargo to see what I could get in terms of loan rates. Here's where it gets interesting: Wells Fargo, with whom I've been my entire banking life and whom I've never missed a payment with on my credit card, wouldn't give me a loan (I assume because of my relatively short credit history). However, Lending Tree came back with an offer of financing from Capital One Auto Loans (whom I've never talked to before in my life), at 6.5% - a good percentage point lower than the current market rate. I find this very amusing, somehow.
This is all still very much in the "eh, maybe" category, but I figure it can't hurt to have the extra information...
Although, incidentally, the license plate "RITLIN" is currently available in AK. =D
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-22 09:38 pm (UTC)Don't be too fooled... that's almost certainly due to all the steering and front suspension being brand new. Replace everything up front in what you're currently driving and it'd probably be similar.
You should take a look at the hybrids out there. Granted, they're going to cost substantially more than a focus, but there's also a HUGE tax cut that goes along with that; something like $5k iirc. And that's an actual cut, not just a deduction.
I also know someone
Actually, they're not nearly as much help on snow as you might think. In fact, on loose snow you can stop shorter by locking the tires up, which causes them to plow right into the snow. ABS does buy you a much better chance of being able to steer under hard breaking, though I'm somewhat doubtful how much it would help on ice.
Don't get me wrong, ABS is certainly handy to have in many instances, but it's definately not the panacea that many people make it out to be. Unfortunately a lot of folks think somehow that it means you suddenly have better stopping ability and start driving as such, meaning they get themselves in trouble. Not saying that you'd do that. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-02-22 10:16 pm (UTC)There's actually nothing I'd like more than a hybrid, but there are a couple of limiting factors there - first off is the cost, which is a bit prohibitive for me at the moment. Second is the fact that the tax cut (at least, when I checked it six months ago) shrinks every year - this year it's $2500, and the next year it was supposed to be $1250 or something. (I suppose they could've extended it, but that doesn't seem like the sort of thing Georgie-boy is so keen on. I should check on it though.) Third is the fact that they don't do so well in hilly areas, and guess what! Juneau's got a fair number of mountains. :) Fourth is that you currently have to replace the battery every five years, and there go your gas savings...although I've heard they're making improvements to that.
Thanks for the tip about the Insight, but I'm not likely to have that kind of money for a good few months.
Actually, I have experience with anti-lock brakes - my current car has them (I wouldn't buy a car without them in Alaska). No, they're not a panacea (remind me to tell you about skidding through a major-road intersection at the bottom of the Eaglecrest hill sometime) but they do help, and I still think they should be a mandated safety feature. But you're right, some people do assume that that (or four wheel drive, or airbags, or whatever) means they don't have to be careful. Oh well.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 07:58 am (UTC)I'd love to test drive a Focus, but the local dealership never has any around with a manual transmission. *annoyed*
Found your journal from a comment you made in bad_sex, saw you were from Alaska, and figured I'd see what you had to say. I'm from Iowa, but have been pondering a "stereotypical motorcycle trip" up through Canada to Alaska and back.
-=Russ=-
no subject
Date: 2006-02-26 08:05 am (UTC)To be honest, I've only driven a vehicle without antilock brakes once in nasty braking conditions, which may be why I prefer them (it was rather interesting to realize that the brakes were engaged but I was showing every sign of smashing right into the Explorer ahead of me in Brian's old Civic). But to each their own.
I can't drive a stick (Brian keeps saying I should learn but refuses to teach me on his Prelude), so that wasn't really an issue for me...but the Focus was fun to drive, nonetheless. I'm still not certain if I'd go with it or a Mazda, though - the Mazdas seem nicer by far and only marginally more expensive, though you don't get as many features for your money. :(
Nice to meet you, though...thanks for stopping by. :)