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The Road(iem) to SUV Love!Apr 13 '01 (Updated Apr 15 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line It's important to choose the right vehicle to match your lifestyle and your budget. Buy the car or SUV that best suits your needs at the time.
In the past 30 years I have owned a total of nine cars and three Sports Utility Vehicles. As my lifestyle changed, so did my automobile preferences and needs. It is important to choose the right vehicle to match your current lifestyle. Since I am not a mechanic I will not attempt to venture into that arena. One of my favorite and most respected authors, Roadiem (Mike Lambert), was the unchallenged expert in this area. It is in his memory that I write this review. It is part of a write off organized by Wolfman 309 to benefit his widow. So, What Do I Know About Cars and SUVs? I have owned just about every type of car since I was 15 years old. Pretty much the good, the bad, and the ugly. My first car was a 1965 Mustang convertible. (How about that for starting off with a bang?) My father drove it home one day (top down, of course) and handed me the keys.It was great car(and probably still is). I loved having a convertible sports car for many reasons. 1. It was a great guy magnet (what else do you want at age 15?), especially when the top was down and there were 3-4 other teenage girls in the car. Hmmm...I'm not sure I would want my teenage daughter to have one. 2. All my friends loved it, but it would only hold three passengers, so you couldn't have too many friends at one time. Everyone always wanted me to drive when we went somewhere. 3. It was sleek and sporty, handled well, and seemed to get pretty good mileage, as best I can recall. Of course, gas was about 26 cents a gallon back then so it didn't matter too much. 4. I loved the way it drove and handled, especially on a beautiful day with the top down. If I ever decided to have a weekend play car, this would be the one. Things I didn't love A convertible was not, however, a lot of fun in the rain or cold, or when it was really, really hot. A convertible just becomes a regular old car under those conditions. How would I compare a convertible to an SUV? 1. You can't put down the top on an SUV, but you can open the moon roof. You get a similar effect with the fresh air, but you can never achieve the coolness of a top-down convertible. 2. Gas is not 26 cents a gallon now and my current 8-cylinder Explorer gets about 18 miles to a gallon. The 6-cylinder got about 21-22 miles. 3. I can see a lot better in my SUV (especially since there are so many of them on the road). It would be tough driving around in the Mustang now trying to see around all the SUVs. 4. I feel much safer in my SUV than I ever did in my convertible. 5. Everyone at work always wants me to drive at lunch (some things never change). I have also owned a couple of compact cars. I am actually too embarrassed to mention one of them by name, except it was in the same "horse-related" family and might have exploded if someone had rear-ended me. (Okay, now you know all my secrets.) How a Compact Compares to an SUV 1. The compact is much smaller and more cramped - the SUV roomy and comfortable. You can carry a lot of stuff in the SUV. We have hauled a ladder, a play house,large television, full scuba gear, multiple suitcases, a dishwasher and tons of groceries. (Not all at the same time, but we have packed our Explorer to the gills on more than one occasion.) The fold-down back seat is very helpful. Do not attempt this in a compact! 2. The compact got good mileage, but I was embarrassed to be seen driving it.The limited driving really kept down the cost of gas and maintenance. I love driving my SUV - it looks good and drives great. 3. The compact was cheap and I could afford the payments. (However, I didn't keep it long.)The SUV is more expensive, but it seems to be holding its value very well. I was NOT upside-down on my payments when I traded the '98 for the 2000. What about a 4-Door family car, you ask. Yes, with two children, I also owned one of those. Benefits of 4-Door Family Sedan 1. It was good having doors in the back for getting kids in and out (compared to the 2-door I traded in.) My SUV is great for hauling grandchildren now. The back seat easily holds two car seats and another passenger. It's a bit high off the ground so I am careful helping them down. 2. The family car hauled a lot of kids and their stuff. The trunk was pretty roomy. The SUV has a large back seat and rear storage area. 3. Everyone else I knew drove equally boring family cars. Most everyone in my neighborhood drives an SUV, but that's not the reason I drive one. I really love my Explorer. The 4-door sedan was a pretty good car with small children; very boring, but utilitarian. I seem to recall the mileage being pretty decent and the drive okay. We avoided really long trips because we couldn't stand having the kids in such close quarters for too long at one time. Are we there yet? He hit me. I need to use the bathroom. You know the drill. If SUVs had been around then, and I could have possibly afforded one, I would have traded in the 4-foor family car in a heartbeat. However, living in the pre-SUV era, we opted for the mini-van as our next vehicle. This was about the least favorite of all my cars. It was for me the worst of all worlds. 1. It was kinda of big and bulky, but not really big enough for serious people or stuff hauling. The kids were still close enough to the driver to be really loud, but far enough away to be out of arm range. 2. It didn't handle well on wet or icy roads. I have a picture of this van sitting crossways in my driveway following a snow. It never made it up the slight hill and into my garage. 3. It screamed, "I am a mother with children trying to get them somewhere and probably running late." It was an open invitation to car pools, bubble gum in the seats, trash in the floor, and finger and nose prints inside most of the windows. We once drove the mini van, whom we called Vanna,across the country with the kids on vacation. I wanted to set Vanna on fire upon our return. Poor Vanna. I made my husband take her as his car -- he's tall and enjoyed the extra head and leg room. Then, for several years I drove a Thunderbird (2 different ones, in fact). I really liked both of these cars. They were fun to drive, comfortable and got pretty good mileage. They were also 2-door and kind of sporty looking. Then, along came the SUV craze. I did not immediately succumb. In fact, I held out for a long time. Then my husband talked me into buying our first Explorer. It was a 1996 Explorer XLT. I couldn't believe how well I liked it. In no time, I was zipping around in it, with no fear of pulling out in front of cars, I could get in and out of parking spots with no problem,and I actually felt safer, having a much better vantage point than from a car. I was hooked! It's been no going back since then. I traded it for a 1998 Eddie Bauer - more bells and whistles, even more comfortable. Leather seats, great sound system. Then finally, we bought the 2000 Limited Edition Explorer. It has everything and handles like a dream. My husband calls it his weekend truck. I call it my luxury car. It's the best of both worlds. I will never go back to a "car" again. I absolutely hate being out of town and having to rent a car. It feels so strange being low to the ground, not being able to see as well, and not having all the roominess inside. There you have it from someone who started with a Mustang convertible, survived a couple of compacts, had the 4-door family car, suffered through the minivan, and finally got hooked on an SUV. Thanks for reading. We'll miss you, Mike! Please read the reviews written by the other participants in this write-off. All proceeds will go to Roadiem's widow. bjcuevas, napthalia, seether166, sherrylee, mattjoe, viper1963,wolfman309,gollygumdrops, noniaBidnis, nightshade_01, obnox, Hawkseafan, Yyvonne, T-Hall,mtuairau, jennifa, PPerky1954, hnnygrlca, rcknron3, MiDoyle, charlesnep,LatteChick, garfield12, bgoodday, chrisceb, alwaysstubborn, nwinston, hirohito99, sweetcece, theworm,ginahill, jpmcgurk, tiffer0220, juliette, elorraine, imames, pipet, sparkospunky,disartain, Linda527, Lisa_J, lgcurcio@yahoo, kristinafh, tgreenway, pambo, friskycelery, tjarnold, iculooking, todd, teddiec,Darby Walters, wolfman309,emeleel, joubert, technologyrep, gamblinfamily, smithwoodside, daturawest, angelmommy, liberator76, hadassahchana, lark729_89, missy32, blonbabydawn, bryrose, merlot & ladyvamp  |
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