|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:the transmission selector may be infrequently used but it's important that it is used correctly and has visual indicators to clearly show what's happening. on the left hand side they would be potentially screened by the wheel, which you do not want. OK then, put the dial on the left side of the wheel, and put the indicator in the instrument cluster (like column-mounted transmission selectors have always done).
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2022 17:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2024 07:31 |
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:the transmission selector may be infrequently used but it's important that it is used correctly and has visual indicators to clearly show what's happening. on the left hand side they would be potentially screened by the wheel, which you do not want. I hate, hate, HATE the rotary shifter. It does have one use though: backing a trailer is made easier with it if you have to do the back-and-forth thing into a small space. Not that the column shifter makes it hard, of course. Push-buttons all in a row would probably be the better way, but why change from column shift? At least with a column prndl, I always know "up" is park. No ambiguity, none. Punch the shifter into the roof and you will not move. For safety's sake, that is much more important than being able to shuffle between R and D with one finger.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2022 17:46
|
|
|
Speaking of new shifters. I got upgraded to a Volvo XC40 Recharge at Sixt and drove around a bit for 3 days (just posted this in the EV thread too). The shifter is a stick in the normal place but it doesn't move. So the only indication of what gear you're in is that the font for the selected gear is slightly bigger on the dash. Also the electric parking brake can gently caress off. Otherwise it's quite nice.     It has 4 modes (hybrid, ev-only, performance and offroad). Hybrid seems to used up most of the battery pretty quickly but will start the ICE up at highway speeds. EV only has sufficient acceleration to get around but not enough to be fun or impressive really. And the range is only about 45km, which might be technically enough to cover the average commute but IMO is annoyingly short. Like I wouldn't be able to make it across the city to football practice and back tomorrow (if I had it at home), and public charging is annoying with the apps and registration bullshit. Also at least 3-4 hours to charge even this small battery. At least it's cheaper than Swedish gas  Not a fan of how big and tall it is but overall the driving experience is very relaxing at least on the well maintained roads. Speed bumps feel pretty harsh, maybe due to the enormous wheels. The interior is nice, and the tablet thingie works well, though the HVAC controls through it are annoying and the navigation seems dumb sometimes. I think if I needed something for boring commuting this could work, but I'd want at least 80km of ev range or so. Having to plug in every time I stop anywhere got pretty old even in 3 days.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 14:45
|
|
|
never understood the hatred for EPBs to be honest, what's the deal there? that shifter is real annoying though, agreed
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 14:47
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:never understood the hatred for EPBs to be honest, what's the deal there? Also won't let you do sick turns on snow.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 14:56
|
|
|
it has a light and an indicator the sick turns in snow is legitimate i guess
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 15:59
|
|
|
In my daily I strongly prefer the EPB. Takes up less space on the console and I can be dainty with the button. It also turns itself off when I go into drive which is something I’m surprised other cars don’t do. No sick drifts in the snow at all tho, which is a god damned bummer that makes me sad.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 16:38
|
|
|
Lots of cars have EPBs these days. What is the advantage for the manufacturers? I can't imagine anyone chooses a car based on the presence of an EPB. I can't imagine a marketer even thinks that someone chooses a car based on an EPB. So it has to be cheaper or simpler for manufacturing, or allow more parts interchange between models. Are parking brake cables something that cause trouble enough to affect JD Power ratings?
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 17:18
|
|
|
My personally owned automatic vehicles have all been column shift, I prefer it over everything else due to muscle memory. Leaving the hotel in the morning usually has me pawing at the where the shifter should be before I have to stop and remember what brand I'm driving. I learned that the wrangler will shift into park if you open the door, super annoying when you are trying to get it into a very specific position without driving into the trench. This never happened with a manual! 
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 17:22
|
|
|
PBCrunch posted:Lots of cars have EPBs these days. What is the advantage for the manufacturers? I can't imagine anyone chooses a car based on the presence of an EPB. I can't imagine a marketer even thinks that someone chooses a car based on an EPB. So it has to be cheaper or simpler for manufacturing, or allow more parts interchange between models. Are parking brake cables something that cause trouble enough to affect JD Power ratings? it's cheaper, it's simpler for manufacturing, the switch and mechanism can be used across platforms, and it increases console space
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 17:32
|
|
|
My F-150 has an EPB with a physical switch thing by my knee. But! If you put it into reverse the touchscreen puts a little digital button on the backup camera to turn on the brake too. And it's an automatic brake which only activates when you stop and turns off when you lift off the normal brake again. So if you are backing up to a trailer using the camera you can just hit the touchscreen button and when you are in position the EPB turns on to hold you at the hitch. No looking away. No toggle on/off if you were not quite right. A nice little feature.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 18:00
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:it's cheaper, it's simpler for manufacturing, the switch and mechanism can be used across platforms, and it increases console space How can it increase console space over the zero square inches that a foot-actuated parking brake requires? I don't see why a drum-in-hat or caliper-squeezing manual parking brake system couldn't be carried across vehicles. I understand that the cabling probably has to be somewhat vehicle-specific.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 18:28
|
|
|
Because you are thinking of the EPB as a bolt on system in the same way a traditional parking brake is a bolt-on system. The EPB functionality is integrated in to the actuators in the caliper and the normal brake controller, so there maybe a slight incremental cost for each but it is very, very small. Then you have a switch and a couple of wires. I promise you, OEMs are not making cars with EPBs because it's cool.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 20:26
|
|
|
I don't mind EPBs but I absolutely hate cable operated foot parking brakes - just find them so awkward to use EPBs do have some advantages, they make it easy for the car to auto apply/release the brake and in a manual can make hill starts much easier
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 20:36
|
|
|
Yeah my car will set the EPB automatically if I put in park on any sort of incline/decline.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2022 23:24
|
|
|
KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Because you are thinking of the EPB as a bolt on system in the same way a traditional parking brake is a bolt-on system. The EPB functionality is integrated in to the actuators in the caliper and the normal brake controller, so there maybe a slight incremental cost for each but it is very, very small. Then you have a switch and a couple of wires. Vehicles with rear disk brakes have typically had one of two varieties. Smaller cars (like a third-gen Integra, 2600 lbs.) often got a caliper with a bunch of kibble for connecting a parking brake cable and a ratcheting mechanism. I have never seen this type of caliper on anything other than a small car. My experience says this type was more trouble-prone than the more common drum-in-hat setup and was more difficult to service. See below:  Bigger cars generally had a much simpler rear caliper that had nothing to do with the parking brake. Parking brake duties were handled by a drum-in-hat mechanism.  What is happening with these EPBs is that bigger cars like our example 4300-lb. Chevrolet Traverse are getting a caliper that works like the one on the Integra, only a motor is bolted on instead of all that garbage on the caliper shown above. No drum-in-hat. No shoes, no springs, no adjusters. That is where the savings come from, I guess. Much cheaper to pay someone to fasten the two little Torx screws that hold the motor in place than to pay one or more people to install all the bits and pieces hiding inside a drum-in-hat setup (or just install the caliper and the actuator as a single unit from the OEM).   I think the key player here is cheap sintered-metal gear reduction setups that let them get away with using a very small electric motor to generate enough clamping force to keep a lardbody like a Traverse stationary.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 00:52
|
|
|
PBCrunch posted:Lots of cars have EPBs these days. What is the advantage for the manufacturers? I can't imagine anyone chooses a car based on the presence of an EPB. I can't imagine a marketer even thinks that someone chooses a car based on an EPB. So it has to be cheaper or simpler for manufacturing, or allow more parts interchange between models. Are parking brake cables something that cause trouble enough to affect JD Power ratings? Some people never use the "emergency brake" because hey it's only for emergencies! Then somebody like me drives the car and I use the parking brake - either the big-rear end lever that gets in your way when you try to shift or the third pedal in an automatic - and the next time the other driver takes it out it runs like poo poo and bad things happen and why did you put the emergency brake on i drove 50 km on the highway like that and now it's burnt out. EPB means the car can automatically disengage it when the driver shifts into either D or R and no person has to think about it ever again. Fewer angry customers at dealerships complaining about their nephew using the emergency brake. KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:it's cheaper, it's simpler for manufacturing, the switch and mechanism can be used across platforms, and it increases console space EDIT: tying it to rentals - rental agencies not having fleets with toasted parking brakes might or might not be a customer set that manufacturers pay any attention to.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 02:13
|
|
|
EPB that automatically actuates also means that the parking brake gets cycled more than once per year during an annual inspection, and the mechanism doesn't freeze solid after a winter and break at the customer's expense who then exclaims "You're screwing me! You're breaking things on purpose! I'll never come here again! I'll never buy another [brand] car again!"
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 04:44
|
|
|
We got that poo poo all the time at the pharmacy and every one of those motherfuckers was a liar, they were back at our counter no more than three days later to get mad about something else.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 06:04
|
|
|
I suspect another big reason is removing either a solid handle or solid pedal from the cabin helps juice passenger injury ratings enough to be worth it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 11:03
|
|
|
BuckyDoneGun posted:I suspect another big reason is removing either a solid handle or solid pedal from the cabin helps juice passenger injury ratings enough to be worth it. I can maybe buy this for the pedal brakes, that's a pretty critical and easy to deform space in the vehicle and having a hole and pedal mounted there can't help crash scores. On most cars the handbrake lever is recessed at or below the level of the center console when it's not activated, so it shouldn't make much difference - if you whack in to it, you would have whacked in to the center console. Also, if the lever is up, you should not be getting in much of an accident because your car is stopped 
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 12:56
|
|
|
Salami Surgeon posted:EPB that automatically actuates also means that the parking brake gets cycled more than once per year during an annual inspection, Whats an inspection? By the time I buy it most of my vehicles come with a non operating parking brake to fix, I only ever use it consistently if its a manual. The lever style parking brake is not just for small cars but also used on the Buick Park Avenue and its a huge pain to get the cable back on. As for a rental review I havent had anything new to me lately. Tacoma Pros Not bad to drive, ok power and just enough space to work out of. Cons Not many but could use more leg room, the LEDs on the gear shifter are stupid bright when its pitch black out and I covered them with electrical tape, radar cruise control. Wrangler 4 dr Pros Has enough room for my legs and stuff but not a lot more, goes when you hit the gas, turns pretty sharp Cons One had water coming down the inside of the windshield when it rained, gas mileage of a 454, shifts into park when you open the door, death wobble. Ranger Pros Cons No legroom, radar cruise control, auto high beams, collision alert (oncoming traffic would set it off on curves), no legroom (hit my drat knees on the steering column), not as much power as the Taco, no legroom, poor mileage.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 14:54
|
|
|
a lot of states have annual inspections for vehicle roadworthiness that require testing key systems like the parking brake
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 15:57
|
|
|
Is it really a lot of states or is it just a few states that have inspections and they happen to be the states a lot of people live in? No inspections in Nebraska. I don't think there are any in Iowa either. I'm pretty sure the Dakotas are a free-for-all as well. The not having to crash engineer around a formed metal parking brake pedal is a pretty good justification for EPB. PBCrunch fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Jan 27, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 17:21
|
|
|
15 states for safety, plus another 16 for emissions
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 18:38
|
|
|
I know there are a handful of states that require something and there are shops that will pass anything, VA, PA, and TX come to mind right away. Only part of this state requires an emissions check but that's nothing more than checking for codes and that you didn't just reset them by disconnecting the battery or hitting clear. I find it inconvenient so I use a loophole, all they look for is the check engine light and you could pass without a cat and an 02 sensor simulator. My four wheeled vehicles all have functioning cats (if they came with them) and no lights on the dash so it doesn't bother me.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2022 21:23
|
|
|
I currently have the Last Good Cheap Car, the Kia Soul. I drove a prior gen and actually did not like it at all but the new one seems substantially better. The styling is polarizing but interesting. Good
Bad
I don't really know why you would spend over 10% more on the Seltos over this thing. It's really great to drive a cheap car that's pretty unapologetically cheap and cheerful. No one touch windows is loving weird and no CarPlay is absurd but other than that, I would recommend it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2022 20:20
|
|
|
You can get AWD in the Seltos and the Soul is FWD-only. That is enough of a reason for some people. Honestly it seems like poor product planning to not have an AWD option on any mainstream car these days. Pretty much every car shares an architecture with a CUV of some sort. Just offer the AWD drivetrain in the car body.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2022 16:26
|
|
|
The new Sonata ONLY has wireless CarPlay, maybe that’s the direction H/K is taking all their stuff. Pissed me off because I had to stop and put it in park to pair my phone, can’t just plug in a goddamn wire. loving dumb, yet another backwards step in usability.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2022 16:31
|
|
|
oh the ride on the Soul is pretty crashy, it doesn't do a phenomenal job absorbing impacts despite the fact that it's riding on fat sidewalls (16" wheels on a new car!)
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2022 18:04
|
|
|
RIP Paul Walker posted:The new Sonata ONLY has wireless CarPlay, maybe that’s the direction H/K is taking all their stuff. The infotainment situation in the Sonatas is hilarious because somehow they have wireless CarPlay on the base model but not the premium one...? Mine certainly only has wired CarPlay at least.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2022 19:34
|
|
|
PBCrunch posted:You can get AWD in the Seltos and the Soul is FWD-only. That is enough of a reason for some people. Honestly it seems like poor product planning to not have an AWD option on any mainstream car these days. Pretty much every car shares an architecture with a CUV of some sort. Just offer the AWD drivetrain in the car body. Then you'd miss out on some of that sweet CUV markup. Funnily enough almost every mainstream Japanese car has had an AWD option since the 90s but these are mostly Japan only (with a few like the Mazda 3 eventually getting a rest of world release)
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2022 21:06
|
|
|
dissss posted:Funnily enough almost every mainstream Japanese car has had an AWD option since the 90s but these are mostly Japan only (with a few like the Mazda 3 eventually getting a rest of world release) I was pretty shocked to learn that the JDM Fitto had an AWD version which never made it outside. The only other one that comes to mind is the Suzuki Swift /Justy which have/had here. 
mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Feb 9, 2022 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2022 23:43
|
|
|
mobby_6kl posted:I was pretty shocked to learn that the JDM Fitto had an AWD version which never made it outside. The only other one that comes to mind is the Suzuki Swift /Justy which have/had here. Toyota Vitz (Yaris), Mazda Demio (2), Nissan March (Micra) and probably any other small car you can think of had an AWD version. You could even get an AWD Integra at one point (I think just the DC shape sedan)
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2022 00:32
|
|
|
Scored a Mazda CX-9 in the Hertz Gold aisle at MCO a few days ago. I got really lucky because the other options (even in Presidents Circle) were like Altimas and Venues. My total rate for standard car, even with tax, was like $100 for 3 days. It is the largest car I have ever driven, I think? It seems larger than my parents' Honda Odyssey they lent me 15 years ago, and larger than my neighbor's Jeep Gladiator he let me borrow for a weekend off-roading trip. Actually no, I drove a Ford Explorer as a rental a few years back. Anyways, it somehow pulls off the trick of being large without feeling egregious like a Telluride or bigger. We had 6 people in the car for one of my days, and both physicians in the third row claimed they were comfortable (admittedly they are petite women). Drives surprisingly well for a giant 3 row crossover. I think there may have been some sound enhancement from the engine (which is lame), but I was satisfied with the low end torque and it was actually less floaty around some corners than my daily driver Volvo V90 wagon. There was a wireless charging pad but it was poorly aligned and didn't actually work--putting my phone on it prompted Apple Pay. No USB-C connection for CarPlay, and I stopped packing USB-A/Lightning cords, so wasn't able to connect which is a bummer. In summary, as much as I'm trying to avoid buying a crossover/SUV as a family car, this seems like a reasonable choice. Mandalay fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Feb 11, 2022 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2022 00:52
|
|
|
Rented a "Toyota RAV-4 or similar" in Fairbanks, Alaska and got a CX-5. Score! If you rent a car in Fairbanks you get an extension cord for the block heater and a really lovely ice scraper/snow brush. The rental agreement includes a list of forbidden roads as well as winter driving tips like "if it's really cold, your tires might feel a little flat so just drive for a bit until the air warms up enough to make them round again". Overall the car handled well on packed snow in subzero temperatures. Eventually the packed snow turned into packed ice on top of a literal sheet of ice in places (there was a big warming event after Christmas) and that was not so great with all-seasons. AK DOT has recently built roundabouts at a few of the busier freeway interchanges and they can be rather exciting in slick conditions. ABS was handy in a few places as well. Outside of intersections it wasn't too bad, and driving over big piles of snow is always fun in a rental car. At -15F it takes a very long time for the rear defroster to do its thing and even after being plugged in overnight I was relieved when the engine turned on (a real Alaskan just leaves the car running, which is part of the reason why Fairbanks often has poor winter air quality). One feature I did wish the car had was a heated steering wheel because a leather steering wheel can take quite a while to warm up when first starting the car. The CX-5 scratched the Mazda itch and kept me getting in too much trouble on snowy roads so I was definitely happy I got to drive one for a long weekend.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2022 07:58
|
|
|
Saw a Honda Accord Sport on the lot at ATL last week and had to take it - you almost never see Hondas as rentals and I haven't driven a modern Honda in quite some time. My dad had a series of manual Accord EXs (1992, 1998, 2001) which I spent a lot of time riding in. Learned to drive stick on the 98. I have a soft spot for the cars, so I was a little trepedatious. First impressions: It's a big car. This was in the weird gray color, which didn't look too bad, but being covered in pollen doesn't do it any favors. The wheels are tacky and it's sort of pre :2f2f: from the factory with a black decklid spoiler, etc. The size is borne out by the interior space - there's a ton of room behind 5'10 me in a normal driving position. Massive amounts of room. The controls are still very Honda-like. Everything is obvious to understand and falls to hand exactly where it should be. Pros:
Cons:
Overall, Honda still knows how to make a really loving good car. This is by far the best car in its dying segment, other than perhaps the CVT. I don't think you can fix that problem any more though. I was left with the question as to why you would buy this over say, a Civic. Unless you really need a huge car, it seems like the in-house competiton is better. KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 16:28 on May 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Apr 4, 2022 13:33
|
|
|
Recently went on a multi-city biz trip so got to check out 3 econoboxes (roughly $20k). Nissan Sentra (4.5 stars out of 5) I was honestly surprised at how nice the new Sentra was. Interior materials were pretty good, infotainment was smooth, and the seats had nice side bolsters and felt huggy in a good way. Power was nothing special but if I was shopping for a cheap compact sedan, this would probably be high on my short list. Kia Forte (3 stars out of 5) Pretty much everything was a half step or step down from the Sentra. Road/wind noise was also incredibly loud on the highway. Would definitely go for the Sentra over this and I have to imagine something like the new Civic would also be much better. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (1.5 stars out of 5) I rented this several years before and it was no better this time around. Crappy materials, slow as all hell, and infotainment was kind of buggy. The only real positive was it had really bright white headlights.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2022 21:33
|
|
|
This past weekend I rented a 2020 Chevy Bolt EV through Turo to get to/from PAX East. I was rather impressed with the car, as seeing its size had me thinking I would be rather uncomfortable in the driver's seat, but I was not. For reference, I am a 6'1", 350lb transwoman, and I didn't even need to put the seat all the way back to be comfortable (prior to this, I had driven a 2020 Honda Civic Sport and... oof it was tight). The infotainment system was bog standard GM, and my only real complaint about it is the angle it was tilted back at made it stupidly susceptible to solar glare. I am not sure if it is an option that the owner didn't spring for, but the lack of adaptive cruise control in a modern car in Boston traffic is... annoying. Handling was fine, and while the suspension felt a bit stiff, I've had worse experiences as a passenger in a minivan on Boston streets when it comes to potholes and road bumps. My only major gripe with the car was range, but overall I feel if I were to own one I am actually in a perfect use-case scenario for it, as I live about a mile from my job and rarely, if ever, go for a drive over 150mi round trip (and even then that happens at most twice a year).
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2022 03:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2024 07:31 |
|
|
hmmxkrazee posted:Recently went on a multi-city biz trip so got to check out 3 econoboxes (roughly $20k). When was the Sentra last refreshed? The one I rented (granted, probably 5 years ago now) was dreadful, the interior was an oppressive place to be in every respect, and the entire car would shake violently upon any kind of acceleration and it was literally brand new when I rented it (or close enough to... under 1000km). Maybe I just have poo poo luck with rental cars. EDIT: Ah, 2019 they released a new Sentra. That makes good sense... Well, I'm glad to see they turned it into something that's actually pleasant to drive for what it is. PT6A fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Apr 27, 2022 |
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2022 23:13
|
|
