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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
A number of you have challenged the letter writers to find a vehicle with similar dimensions and better fuel economy. I am in the market for a new car and I was interested in what I could find. So, I did a little research. (Really, the author should have written this article, not the one he did.)
The reality of today’s car market is that if you must have a smallish third row, the Outlander isn’t a bad choice. This vehicle is in a category called “small SUV.” With the exception of the Escape Hybrid (much more expensive), it has fuel economy that is typical of that class. For example, the Forester, RAV4, and CRV all have about the same economy and space.
A number of you suggested that minivans are a better choice. Sadly, most of today’s minivans don’t do any better on fuel economy. However, they do have much more passenger and cargo space. So, they haul more stuff per gallon than a small SUV. Of course, this only matters if you are always hauling around a lot of people and/or stuff. There are also a few smallish crossover/minivan in disguise vehicles out there (Mazda 5 and Kia Rondo). They don’t really do any better in economy and space than the small SUVs. I've included the Odyssey, Mazda 5, and Rondo below for comparison.
The class with better fuel economy and a little less cargo space is the small hatchback category. Admittedly, they don’t have third row seating, but the third row in the Outlander is pretty tiny anyway.
In any case, here is what I found that seems to compete well with the Outlander. In my opinion, the Honda Fits seems like the best choice for economy, space, price, and reliability. Note that fuel economy is listed as city/highway for the most efficient engine and transmission combination. Passenger volume is listed first. For vehicles with back seats that fold down, the cargo volume from the back of the front seat is listed second. For vehicles with back seats that do not fold down (e.g. Prius, Camry), the luggage volume is listed second. Keep in mind that the cargo volumes listed for the vehicles that have fold down rear seats are only available if you fold down the rear seats, which limits you to one passenger!
Mitsubishi Outlander – (4 cyl, 2wd) 21/25 MPG, 100/73 cu ft
Third Row Seating:
Mazda 5 – 22/28 MPG, 98/44 cu ft (44 from the back of the 2nd row, which doesn’t fold down)
Kia Rondo – 20/27 MPG, 108/32 cu ft (32 from the back of the 2nd row, which doesn’t fold down)
Honda Odyssey – 17/25 MPG, 171/147/91 cu ft (147 behind 1st row, 91 behind 2nd row)
Vehicles with fold down rear seats:
Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe - 26/32 MPG, 94/48 cu ft
Honda Fit - 28/35 MPG, 91/57 cu ft
Nissan Versa Hatchback- 27/33 MPG, 95/50 cu ft
Suzuki SX4 Crossover 2WD – 22/30, 99/54 cu ft
Kia Rio5 – 27/32 MPG, 92/50 cu ft
Ford Focus Hatchback – this car is no longer available in 2009
Vehicles with partially-folding rear seats
Hyundai Accent (3 door) – 27/33, 92/16 cu ft
Kia Spectra5 – 24/32 MPG, 98/18 cu ft
VW Rabbit – 21/30 MPG, 94/15 cu ft
Dodge Caliber – 24/30 MPG, 95/19 cu ft
Toyota Prius – 48/45 MPG, 96/14 cu ft
Vehicles without fold down rear seats
Toyota Camry Hybrid – 33/34 MPG, 101/11 cu ft
Toyota Corolla – 27/35 MPG, 92/12 cu ft
Civic Hybrid – 40/45 MPG, 91/10 cu ft
Civic Sedan – 26/34, 91/12 cu ft
Tuesday, January 06, 2009SUVs are Number One Sellers Again Daily Press reports:
Trucks and sport utility vehicles will outsell cars for the first time since February, according to a December report by Edmunds.com, which tracks industry statistics.
"Despite all the public discussion of fuel efficiency, SUVs and trucks are the industry's biggest sellers right now as a remarkable number of buyers seem to be compelled by three factors: great deals, low gas prices and winter weather," said Michelle Krebs of AutoObserver.com, a division of Edmunds.com, in a prepared statement.
"It was this summer that customers were concerned about the gas mileage. It hasn't been a topic of conversation lately," said Dave Lawson, the general sales manager at Pomoco Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Newport News."
We in Western society better get over our attachment to comfort at the expense of everything else, because climate change is going to make that impossible--and that's ALREADY true, that's not even based on what WILL happen if we don't change our consumption habits now.
The way people can rationalise choices as needs rather than simple preferences (for comfort, status or fashion reasons) even when they KNOW that their choice is the worse one is unforgivable.
What we need to think of ... what EVERY person needs to think of ... is "What would happen if everyone did what I am doing? How would that affect the whole?"
The cult of the individual in the US (and in Western society in general, but US is especially guilty) has essentially eviscerated the Golden Rule and concepts of community and healthy societies.
The reason so many of you completely missed the point of this article was because your absolutist, laser-focused earnestness regarding the article's apparent topic caused you to overlook the actual topic, which was: my god life's a funny thing.
What Benjamin was expressing was his recognition about how ironic it was that he himself--of all people--now owns the single most despised representation of ecological irresponsibility imaginable. You can haggle over how large his ecological sin is. That not withstanding, he knows as well as anyone what this represents, and it's that representation that has him scratching his head.
The expression of irony is no different than that of a person waking up and finding him- or herself with a 60-mile daily commute, oppressive mortgage, hateful (but well-paid job), two children, and a resentful spouse, all centered around a 2,500 sq. ft. home in the middle of what was once some guy's pasture.
All of this occurred through a series of small choices, but none of it was planned, per se. We didn't mean to have this life, though this is certainly the life we choose.
How is this possible? That's the question this article examines. How is this possible?
As for the 200 letters of screed that proceeds this one, I too believe that the world would be a better place if you all lived like me all the time.... And you can certainly say that we can laugh ourselves to death with the irony of it all. Fair enough. But not the point of this article.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
