Results of Weekend Shopping for a New Car For My Mother

[C. E. White]

Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander.

We visited dealerships for Toyota, Honda, and Ford. We eliminated Nissan and
GM from the shopping trip before we began, Where my Mother lives there are
not any other choices within reasonable driving distance.

We started out at the Toyota Dealership. First car was a Venza. I really
liked this, but my Mother seemed completely uninterested. I am not sure why,
but it was pretty much out of the running immediately. Next was the
Highlander. This seemed to be an immediate hit. My Mother didn't want the
third row seat, but it seems that is almost a universal option. I still
preferred the Venza, but I wasn't the buyer.

Next we visited the Honda dealer. The Pilot was immediately eliminated as
wildly overpriced. My Mother liked the CR-V but it seems that dealers load
them all up with options that jack up the price. To get one equipped
reasonably you ended up with a sun roof my Mother didn't want and a price
higher than the Highlander.

The Ford dealer was last on the list. We immediately dismissed the Flex as
too weird. My Sister liked the Edge and tried to find reasons why my Mother
should get it. Unfortunately the dealer had none properly equipped for my
Mother. The MSRP on the Edge was the highest of the vehicles we considered,
but there were rebates that made the price competitive with the Highlander
and the CR-V. I was really impressed with the new Taurus and thought my
Mother should consider it, but She was firm in wanting something taller.
I'll add a few comments oon the Taurus later.

So in the end we finally settled on the Highlander. The Highlander was the
cheapest of the vehicles (4 cylinder, cloth seats, third row seats). The
CR-V was the most expensive, noisiest, smallest, but best equipped (leather
seats, sun roof, electronic temperature control). The Edge had the best
seating, biggest, most powerful engine, most attractive (to me), but got the
worst gas mileage, and was hard to find properly equipped for my Mother. All
the dealerships were very co-operative and none were busy. I believe my
Mother will be happy with the Highlander. It is a little dull, but it has
good room, decent gas mileage and the reliability is likely to be comparable
to the Fords she is used to (can't be better, since she hasn't had a problem
with a Ford in a decade). I was in agreement with the Highlander as the best
choice. It was the closest of the vehicles to the Freestyle (aka Taurus X)
that she owned. Too bad Ford decided to stop making those, I think if they
still made them, we would have just got another.

While the salesmen at the Ford dealer were trying to find a suitable Edge, I
sent a long time looking at a new Taurus. The one I looked at was a very
expensive Limited model with almost every option. It was $35K....way more
than I would consider paying for the car. Still, it was very nice. Looks
great, well assembled. My only gripe is with the width of the center
console. I can't figure why companies (not just Ford) have to install
consoles that eat up a third of the front passenger space. Because of the
ridiculously wide console, the hip space available to front seat passengers
is no better than in my much smaller Fusion. Other than this, I really liked
the car. If I was in the market for a new car, I'd definitely be interested
in a new Taurus - but not a Limited!

Ed

[Ashton Crusher]

On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"

Post by C. E. White
Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

[Sharx35]

Post by Ashton Crusher
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"

Post by C. E. White
Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

For parking lot bumper car?

[Stewart]

Post by Ashton Crusher
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"

Post by C. E. White
Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

Maybe it was a preference as opposed to a technical need.

[C. E. White]

Post by Ashton Crusher
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"

Post by C. E. White
Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

First of all, the Highlnader is not an SUV. You might get away with
calling it a "Crossover" but in no way is it an SUV. In my opinion, it
is nothing more than a Camry Station Wagon. Of the vehicles we looked
at, the Edge was the closest thing to an SUV and it wasn't
particularly close, although Ford tries to pitch it as one. The Venza
is called a car, but the only substantial difference between it and
the Highlander is the height of the roof and the level of standard
equipment. The CR-V would like to pretend to be an SUV, but it misses
the mark by hundreds of miles. It is just a Civic Station Wagon with
an AWD option. Even the Pilot, although a nice vehicle, can't be
considered a legitimate SUV. Anything that is primarily front wheel
drive and has very limited towing capacity is just a station wagon (or
I guess a "Crossover" which in my mind is the new name for "Station
Wagon").

My Mother never said she wanted an SUV. She just wanted something that
she could sit up in and see out of. Until she got a Freestyle, my
Mother always drove a full size vehicles (Galaxie, LTD, Grand Marquis,
etc.). The Freestyle was the smallest car she had ever owned, and at
least it gave her a decent view. Most cars that claim to be full size
these days wouldn't have qaulified as an intermediate in the 60's and
they all tend to place you very low and don't provide a very good view
of the road in a world dominated by large trucks and SUVs (my Mom
lives in a rural area and more than half the vehicles are large trucks
or SUVs).

Anyhow, if you think a front wheel drive, four cylinder Highlander is
an SUV, I think you are using a different definition of an SUV than
would be reasonable.

Ed

[Ashton Crusher]

On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:34:30 -0400, "C. E. White"

Post by C. E. White

Post by Ashton Crusher
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"

Post by C. E. White
Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

First of all, the Highlnader is not an SUV. You might get away with
calling it a "Crossover" but in no way is it an SUV. In my opinion, it
is nothing more than a Camry Station Wagon. Of the vehicles we looked
at, the Edge was the closest thing to an SUV and it wasn't
particularly close, although Ford tries to pitch it as one. The Venza
is called a car, but the only substantial difference between it and
the Highlander is the height of the roof and the level of standard
equipment. The CR-V would like to pretend to be an SUV, but it misses
the mark by hundreds of miles. It is just a Civic Station Wagon with
an AWD option. Even the Pilot, although a nice vehicle, can't be
considered a legitimate SUV. Anything that is primarily front wheel
drive and has very limited towing capacity is just a station wagon (or
I guess a "Crossover" which in my mind is the new name for "Station
Wagon").
My Mother never said she wanted an SUV. She just wanted something that
she could sit up in and see out of. Until she got a Freestyle, my
Mother always drove a full size vehicles (Galaxie, LTD, Grand Marquis,
etc.). The Freestyle was the smallest car she had ever owned, and at
least it gave her a decent view. Most cars that claim to be full size
these days wouldn't have qaulified as an intermediate in the 60's and
they all tend to place you very low and don't provide a very good view
of the road in a world dominated by large trucks and SUVs (my Mom
lives in a rural area and more than half the vehicles are large trucks
or SUVs).
Anyhow, if you think a front wheel drive, four cylinder Highlander is
an SUV, I think you are using a different definition of an SUV than
would be reasonable.
Ed

I know nothing about Highlanders except that I've seen pictures of
them. Sounds like you got her what she needed.

[Hachiroku ハチロク]

Post by C. E. White

Post by Ashton Crusher
I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

First of all, the Highlnader is not an SUV. You might get away with
calling it a "Crossover

That's what it's marketed as. Two or 4WD, but around here they run 5-1 in
favor of AWD.

[Brian Smith]

Post by C. E. White
Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother
to replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly
was looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well
we finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander.
We visited dealerships for Toyota, Honda, and Ford. We eliminated Nissan
and GM from the shopping trip before we began, Where my Mother lives
there are not any other choices within reasonable driving distance.
We started out at the Toyota Dealership. First car was a Venza. I really
liked this, but my Mother seemed completely uninterested. I am not sure
why, but it was pretty much out of the running immediately. Next was the
Highlander. This seemed to be an immediate hit. My Mother didn't want
the third row seat, but it seems that is almost a universal option. I
still preferred the Venza, but I wasn't the buyer.
Next we visited the Honda dealer. The Pilot was immediately eliminated
as wildly overpriced. My Mother liked the CR-V but it seems that dealers
load them all up with options that jack up the price. To get one
equipped reasonably you ended up with a sun roof my Mother didn't want
and a price higher than the Highlander.
The Ford dealer was last on the list. We immediately dismissed the Flex
as too weird. My Sister liked the Edge and tried to find reasons why my
Mother should get it. Unfortunately the dealer had none properly
equipped for my Mother. The MSRP on the Edge was the highest of the
vehicles we considered, but there were rebates that made the price
competitive with the Highlander and the CR-V. I was really impressed
with the new Taurus and thought my Mother should consider it, but She
was firm in wanting something taller. I'll add a few comments oon the
Taurus later.
So in the end we finally settled on the Highlander. The Highlander was
the cheapest of the vehicles (4 cylinder, cloth seats, third row seats).
The CR-V was the most expensive, noisiest, smallest, but best equipped
(leather seats, sun roof, electronic temperature control). The Edge had
the best seating, biggest, most powerful engine, most attractive (to
me), but got the worst gas mileage, and was hard to find properly
equipped for my Mother. All the dealerships were very co-operative and
none were busy. I believe my Mother will be happy with the Highlander.
It is a little dull, but it has good room, decent gas mileage and the
reliability is likely to be comparable to the Fords she is used to
(can't be better, since she hasn't had a problem with a Ford in a
decade). I was in agreement with the Highlander as the best choice. It
was the closest of the vehicles to the Freestyle (aka Taurus X) that she
owned. Too bad Ford decided to stop making those, I think if they still
made them, we would have just got another.
While the salesmen at the Ford dealer were trying to find a suitable
Edge, I sent a long time looking at a new Taurus. The one I looked at
was a very expensive Limited model with almost every option. It was
$35K....way more than I would consider paying for the car. Still, it was
very nice. Looks great, well assembled. My only gripe is with the width
of the center console. I can't figure why companies (not just Ford) have
to install consoles that eat up a third of the front passenger space.
Because of the ridiculously wide console, the hip space available to
front seat passengers is no better than in my much smaller Fusion. Other
than this, I really liked the car. If I was in the market for a new car,
I'd definitely be interested in a new Taurus - but not a Limited!

If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
your family?

My apologies for leaving Ed's entire post in my reply, I did it to back
up what I referred to in my response.

[dr_jeff]

<...>

Post by Brian Smith
If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
your family?

He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
For himself, he liked the Taurus.

Jeff

Post by Brian Smith
My apologies for leaving Ed's entire post in my reply, I did it to
back up what I referred to in my response.

[Brian Smith]

Post by dr_jeff
He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
For himself, he liked the Taurus.

He didn't say that about the Venza at all.

[dr_jeff]

Post by Brian Smith

Post by dr_jeff
He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
For himself, he liked the Taurus.

He didn't say that about the Venza at all.

Perhaps not. But it was clear from the context, perhaps including
previous posts.

[Jim Warman]

See what you started now, ya old fart????? 8^)

[C. E. White]

Well my Mother finally had a complaint about the new Highlander - she didn't
like the cruise control switch. Otherwise the car is great. I do wander why
Toyotauses that weird crusie control switch.

Ed