Topic: Good comfortable car for lots of highway driving?

[EV Dan]

http://shops.autos.ca/a/Porsche/Cayenne/Montr%C3%A9al/Quebec/5_22256173_20080104091818698/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=6_15_22



Gas is cheap, live it up.

Very quiet on the highway, comfy, awd.   Even has warranty.

Why not. We don't really know. Maybe he/she sells [ahem] herbs and other natural things 

[Triple Bob]

Camry Hybrid would be a good choice for a economical highway cruiser. If you want to go to the upper limits of your budget and get a full luxury car, Lexus ES 300h is an option.

Camry Hybrid doesn't offer any benefit on the highway compared to the Passat tdi. The hybrid benefits city drivers.

EPA disagrees without

Mark

EPA is full of crap.  The Passat diesel will easily beat 5.6L on the highway.

[toolatecrew]

Volvo S60 starts at 38 K . Fits the budget
Should be more than quiet enough.
Great mile eater on the highway.
Plus may have the most comfortable seats of anything under 40 K.
If you have to spend hours every day in a car interior this would be pretty high on my list.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Camry Hybrid would be a good choice for a economical highway cruiser. If you want to go to the upper limits of your budget and get a full luxury car, Lexus ES 300h is an option.

Camry Hybrid doesn't offer any benefit on the highway compared to the Passat tdi. The hybrid benefits city drivers.

EPA disagrees without

Mark

EPA is full of crap.  The Passat diesel will easily beat 5.6L on the highway.

Do you like fuelly better?



Mark

[ArticSteve]

When I mentioned diesel Passat, didn`t notice vehicle would be used in Alberta winters.      When debating mpg, can`t really beat Fuelly.com.    2014 Passat diesel rated at 5.88 l/100km via 80 users.  Still with in price range.

[HeliDriver]

Friend of mine has a Jetta TDI and runs it in AB/SK winters. Had some issues at first because of short trips (5 minute drive to the curling rink), but now he's got it figured out: he just lets it idle for the couple hours while he's curling and no more issues. 

And how does the car allowance work: a certain amount monthly for car and gas, or just money for the car and he has to pay his own gas?

The VW gas engines are pretty sweet (new 1.8TSI!), so I probably wouldn't bother with the TDI unless the savings were significant. If the company is paying for fuel, I wouldn't bother.

[ipolski]

Friend of mine has a Jetta TDI and runs it in AB/SK winters. Had some issues at first because of short trips (5 minute drive to the curling rink), but now he's got it figured out: he just lets it idle for the couple hours while he's curling and no more issues. 

And how does the car allowance work: a certain amount monthly for car and gas, or just money for the car and he has to pay his own gas?

The VW gas engines are pretty sweet (new 1.8TSI!), so I probably wouldn't bother with the TDI unless the savings were significant. If the company is paying for fuel, I wouldn't bother.

It depends.  We have fixed monthly allowance + paid mileage + paid fuel costs. 
If OP has fuel paid, I wouldn't bother with diesel.

[Blueprint]

Hi there,

I'm a sales rep and I drive around 40 thousand kilometers per year.  We're doing car allowances now and so I'm looking for something and was wondering if anyone had certain recommendations to look at. 

Honestly the biggest thing I'm looking for as I spend so much time on the road is something that is comfortable and quiet.  I don't want any kind of sport tuned suspension/ultra low profile tires vehicle, I had one before and it handles well and can be fun to drive, but for the most part on our crappy roads it just ends up jarring you around like crazy and making everything rattle whenever you hit the slightest bump.  And good insulation from road noise is nice too, I hate driving in cars where at highway speed you have to turn the music up so loud to hear it.

Reliability is good of course, and AWD would be nice for the snowy climate, but I'm really not sure how big a factor that really ought to be if you get winter tires?  Everyone seems to have a different take on that.

I'd like to spend between 30-40 thousand, preferably at the lower end of that range but I can move up towards 40 if it's worthwhile.

I like the look of the KIA Optima and they have the better warranty, but I had a 2011 Forte before and I just found things felt really cheap on it, lots of things rattled, alignment went out quite quickly, etc.  The new Chrysler 200's look very good as well and you can get them AWD and with that V6 which seems rare on sedans these days. I had a Ford Fusion as a rental a while back which I thought was a really nice ride as well.  I'm reluctant with American cars but maybe the perceptions of poor quality are not justified anymore these days?  But I'd like something I can take care of and drive for a while, not just trade in after a couple years.  If there's some crossover SUV which you think would be a really good option I'd consider those as well.

I appreciate any advice anyone may have, thanks!

Honda Crosstour. Smooth V6, awd, slightly higher, great highway ride, huge trunk, deals to be made, won't see yourself at every corner due to ... interesting looks.

[Solstice2006]

^ For the type of vehicle it is, the Crosstour has lousy cargo capacity.  It's the way the roof line slopes.  Only 25 cubic feet, the Venza has 36 cubic feet.   I don't see any deals online?

[marcus_go]

For mostly highway driving there is no denying that a diesel is in its domain. My choice would be for a Passat TDI for this reason. I wouldn't deny that hybrids can get good fuel economy but achieving posted figures has been argued as challenging in less than ideal driving situations ie. cold weather, heavy foot or mostly highway driving.

[johngenx]

[rrocket]

If you want nice, CPO Lexus ES...preferably in hybrid if fuel economy is important

The Avalon is a great choice too

[Triple Bob]

Camry Hybrid would be a good choice for a economical highway cruiser. If you want to go to the upper limits of your budget and get a full luxury car, Lexus ES 300h is an option.

Camry Hybrid doesn't offer any benefit on the highway compared to the Passat tdi. The hybrid benefits city drivers.

EPA disagrees without

Mark

EPA is full of crap.  The Passat diesel will easily beat 5.6L on the highway.

Do you like fuelly better?



Mark

I'm just saying that for the type of driving OP suggests, his mileage should be better than average.  As the average Fuelly user wouldn't be doing as much highway as the OP.

[JohnnyMac]

I'm going to say you should look at the new Nissan Murano.  It should be a pretty quiet highway cruiser, it will pretty comfortable, and reliability is good.  You can even get a FWD model at the lower end of your budget if you feel AWD isn't a must. 

If you're dead set on a car, I would try and find a way to make a Hyundai Genesis sedan work.  They are excellent in base model form.  I've driven one this past summer and it was by far the quietest car I've ever driven.  It comes standard with AWD.  You might be able to get a good deal at end of year sales, plus their interest rates sometimes make up enough of a difference to justify the extra $$$ you spend on it.  It should be fairly reliable too.

[Fobroader]

I think a Genesis with awd should be a great choice for you. Surefooted when its slippery, quiet, comfortable.....and if cost isn't an issue, go for the V8 

[Solstice2006]

Isn't this a new gen Murano?  How do we know its reliable?  Same V6, and CVT, but there are other things... Not exactly the most fuel efficient (if that what he is looking for)....

[JohnnyMac]

Isn't this a new gen Murano?  How do we know its reliable?  Same V6, and CVT, but there are other things... Not exactly the most fuel efficient (if that what he is looking for)....

Any new generation of vehicle is a question mark.  Only thing we can do is look at past generations, look at what they did to major parts (power train) and go from there.  I think the new Murano should be about as reliable as the last generation, so that's pretty good. 

As for the not exactly the most fuel efficient, I thought it was at or near the top of V6 SUV's.  Plus this guy didn't really list fuel economy as a top priority.

[quadzilla]

Three pages and the OP hasn't been back.

[Northernridge]

Three pages and the OP hasn't been back.

Busy test driving...we've recommended 30 different vehicles. 

[quadzilla]

Three pages and the OP hasn't been back.

Busy test driving...we've recommended 30 different vehicles.