We must soon purchase a car. My predisposition to public transit notwithstanding, a car is increasingly becoming a requirement in the US. The choices are endless, but the tricky decision is a long-term one. Almost every single make and model manufactured in the wide world seems to be an option here. So how do we make a good decision? Suggestions and experiences are gladly invited.
As a first step, I started renting out a variety of cars when forced to hit the road (mostly to places that cannot be reached through a nice bus-train combination). Rental companies in the US seem to be fixated on handing out American vehicles. The assignment has always been the Chevrolet (Chevy) Cobalt. Now, "cobalt" conjures up the color blue in my mind. Remember the "cobalt blue" from your watercolor set? On both occassions, however, we were given flashy cars: a deep red, and a glaring orange!! Arrrgh! We were literally lighting up the road as we blazed away on the freeway!
Hue preferences aside, the Cobalt is simply inefficient. In a time when gas prices are skyrocketing to unprecendented highs, this car guzzles black gold. Granted that I was driving a lot, but I had to make fueling stops every day! There were other nagging design defects in this model. Even slight turns of the steering wheel would completely block off the speedometer. Worse, blocking out the sun from your eyes would also block the rear-view mirror! Talk about driving blind!
I have driven far too many other cars by now, thanks to my Zipcar membership (see www.zipcar.com. Hey! A free advertisement for this nice company!) The list includes the Scion xA, Scion xB, Prius (hybrid) and the Volkswagen Jetta.
I wrote a piece on the Prius some time ago. Here is some raving on the Jetta, which has been the best experience to date: it has a solid car body with an equally comforting weight behind the steering mechanism (the xA and xB were so light that even minor bumps on the road would jerk the wheel around). Amazingly smooth acceleration from the Jetta, even from rest. Very good views of the vehicles around you (the Prius' slick, aerodynamic design causes even pedestrians on crosswalks to be hidden, while the xB is so boxy that there is little to be seen even by twisting your neck backwards).
The Jetta, however, is a fairly small car. Leg room (especially in the rear seats) is not great. This has not been an issue so far, since I am the one doing the driving!
The hunt for a nice family car thus continues. Updated experiences will be posted from time to time. I may even attempt to describe the pros and cons for each model in detail.
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