It looks like I will have to buy my first vehicle in 20 years.
I have been lucky for the most part. bought a vehicle when i turned 16 and drove it for 10 years; took a hand-me-done for a couple years; and have been mooching off my wife for the last 6-7 years.
We both used to walk to work, so one car was typically fine. But now, i have to drive to work (only about 10 minutes) and about 1-2 days a week she does too. So it has become a pain. Plus, i am truly sick of the excuse of it being her car when she back-seat drives it.
I truly don't want to spend a ton of money. Im going to test drive a subaru crosstrek this weekend then run over to Lexus to test an UX and NX for the likely top end of my arbitrary budget.
any other suggestions or tips would be appreciated.
Im looking at a small SUV/Crossover. We currently have a hatchback and i love driving it in the city, but my wife wants something a bit bigger.
I don't want a RAV4
The new VW Tiguan look nice, the top trim comes with 268hp. I think around $53k
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Weird question because im useless and old. This car has all sorts of gadgets and indicators but i have a tough time reading the tiny print manual or the indicators on the console screens and trip computer.
Realized 4x4 modeblows through gas like a mofo. Can i go somewhere and get a ten minute tutorial from someone?
It seems to have lane assist mode all the time but the old one only had that when cruise control was on. Its felt like im sliding so a slow down but i think its adjusting my placement. Its unsettling.
Subaru Crosstrek and the UX are basically just hatchbacks too. A Civic hatchback (25 cu ft) has more cargo space than those, for example. You want an Outback if you're going for something a bit bigger in a Subaru (33 cu ft vs 21 for the crosstrek).
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When we went from the Civic to Impreza(both sedans) you really notice the lack of trunk depth from having AWD. It's totally worth it, but it's not nothing.
It would help if they had more squared off back ends, instead of being so raked.
When shopping for a car a few years ago, we found the UX to be functionally pretty useless. It's kind of bulky from the outside, but inside is tiny, the back row has no head-room, and the trunk area was negligible. Also felt pretty cheap inside...it's basically a car for people who want the badge, but are willing to sacrifice everything else to get it. Wasn't a fan.
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I drove my dad's Rav4 over Christmas, and I finally understand. The vehicle seems designed to lull you into driving slow. The hybrid, anyway, has a fairly strong regen when you take your foot off the gas. So if you are used to coasting a lot, you end up going way slower than you suspect. The digital speedo needle kinda blurs when it is changing, so you don't have a precise indication, and it felt easier to not look at it(and the digital dash is a mess of...stuff). This is an even bigger issue if you are using TACC, and the next thing you know you've gone from 100 to 90 because the person in front of you is going that speed, but you didn't notice because the blurry needle has snuck it's way down.
The vehicle being generally boring and almost encapsulating like it is hugging you, then lulling you with the droning noise from the rear(this may be due to the studded tires my dad fitted) doesn't help, because you just lose any will to drive it in a spirited manner. Stepping on the gas hard makes so much of a racket that it had me backing off, just to avoid the sound of it all. It just feels easier to turn yourself over to it.
In short, I'm not so sure it's the drivers, it's the vehicle.
Another super annoying aside that I only discovered because I had to clear the snow off of it 8 times in Canmore, that's a super pain. With the roof rack and rear spoiler there are so many spots for snow to get jammed up it's a pain to clear. And the cabin air intake is buried, like, 8" below hood level so you have to dig like Oak Island to get all the snow out. Oh, and if you accidentally leave the wipers on auto, they won't move until you clear snow from whatever sensor it is using, and then they will move with zero regard to them being frozen to the windshield or your brush in the way. It's go time and they go.
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Weird question because im useless and old. This car has all sorts of gadgets and indicators but i have a tough time reading the tiny print manual or the indicators on the console screens and trip computer.
Realized 4x4 modeblows through gas like a mofo. Can i go somewhere and get a ten minute tutorial from someone?
It seems to have lane assist mode all the time but the old one only had that when cruise control was on. Its felt like im sliding so a slow down but i think its adjusting my placement. Its unsettling.
Did you buy it new from a Ford dealer? If I was you, I'd go back to the sales guy and get him to give you the tutorial himself.
I don't know if this applies to the current system in your Bronco, but Ford's lane keep assist system has the option of being put into a passive only mode that doesn't actively intervene in steering inputs. However, whichever mode you choose will be used in both regular driving and when using cruise control, it doesn't appear you can turn it off for just one and not the other.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
I drove my dad's Rav4 over Christmas, and I finally understand. The vehicle seems designed to lull you into driving slow. The hybrid, anyway, has a fairly strong regen when you take your foot off the gas. So if you are used to coasting a lot, you end up going way slower than you suspect. The digital speedo needle kinda blurs when it is changing, so you don't have a precise indication, and it felt easier to not look at it(and the digital dash is a mess of...stuff). This is an even bigger issue if you are using TACC, and the next thing you know you've gone from 100 to 90 because the person in front of you is going that speed, but you didn't notice because the blurry needle has snuck it's way down.
The vehicle being generally boring and almost encapsulating like it is hugging you, then lulling you with the droning noise from the rear(this may be due to the studded tires my dad fitted) doesn't help, because you just lose any will to drive it in a spirited manner. Stepping on the gas hard makes so much of a racket that it had me backing off, just to avoid the sound of it all. It just feels easier to turn yourself over to it.
In short, I'm not so sure it's the drivers, it's the vehicle.
I've heard that rear droning noise in other RAV4s as well, but I thought it was just the Uber maintenance standard of "I once saw a taxi with duct tape sealing over the passenger airbag so this is fine".
But none of that surprises me otherwise. Toyota isn't exactly building for excitement these days, it wouldn't feel off if you slapped a "Maytag" or "GE Appliances" badge on the back of one.
Did you buy it new from a Ford dealer? If I was you, I'd go back to the sales guy and get him to give you the tutorial himself.
I don't know if this applies to the current system in your Bronco, but Ford's lane keep assist system has the option of being put into a passive only mode that doesn't actively intervene in steering inputs. However, whichever mode you choose will be used in both regular driving and when using cruise control, it doesn't appear you can turn it off for just one and not the other.
Haha. No you saw me where i bought it the day i did ya goof. Theres just buttons that i am not sure of what they do. I.e. i think they are side mirrors that i believe are heaters but they don't appear to do anything. I am not a car guy at all.
I think I figured out the 4x4 modes, but what is good practice? Should you wait be be stopped to switch or does it not matter? What is 4L for? Is there a speed one should be below in the modes?
Grab your owners manual and a six pack and sort it out! Most car manuals are pretty good, not sure about Ford.
I cant read it haha. So I'm sitting with my phone out spreading out my two fingers zooming like an 80's swank magazine. But it doesn't have the nuance of what is good operating practice.
Haha. No you saw me where i bought it the day i did ya goof. Theres just buttons that i am not sure of what they do. I.e. i think they are side mirrors that i believe are heaters but they don't appear to do anything. I am not a car guy at all.
I think I figured out the 4x4 modes, but what is good practice? Should you wait be be stopped to switch or does it not matter? What is 4L for? Is there a speed one should be below in the modes?
LOL Oh FFS, of course. Too much nog over here.
For the lane keeping, you gotta do it through your center screen:
Spoiler!
For 4x4 modes, for the most part, you should be driving the vehicle in 2H. Snowy or slippery sections expected, use 4A. It'll drive mostly in 2H until it detects slip, then it'll transfer power to the front wheels to improve traction. A deeper proper snow day, use 4H which is a dedicated 4WD mode.
2H and 4A can be thought of as your daily and highway use modes, depending on weather. 4A would be my mode where there might be some snow around, 2A would be clear pavement.
All of these you can switch into while on the move, and the only system you cannot put it into on the move is 4L, as you have to stop the vehicle and put the transmission in neutral before switching to the low-range gear. Unless you are actually off-roading over serious terrain, you will never need to use 4L.
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-James
GO FLAMES GO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Typical dumb take.
Last edited by TorqueDog; 01-03-2026 at 02:22 PM.
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