DD replacement (CUVs)

I would say a used Rav 4 for two reasons. It’s a Toyota and it has been outselling Camrys which means upkeep in the future will be cheap. 

The most popular vehicles generally do better in the long run and there will be tons of support for them. 

My wife has a 2018 Jeep Compass, with 18 separate computers when I scan it, and it has been plagued with lots electrical gremlins and has spent lots of time at the dealer. 

I have worked in the electronic systems industry since 1980, and it is scary to think that all of the electronic systems can be integrated to share information without future reliability issues.  

Just a thought when spending lots of money for a vehicle that is optioned with lots of hardware and firmware upgrades.

Posted by: neomr2

My wife has a 2018 Jeep Compass, with 18 separate computers when I scan it, and it has been plagued with lots electrical gremlins and has spent lots of time at the dealer. 

I have worked in the electronic systems industry since 1980, and it is scary to think that all of the electronic systems can be integrated to share information without future reliability issues.  

Just a thought when spending lots of money for a vehicle that is optioned with lots of hardware and firmware upgrades.

There is an old saying by an Irish man that played a Scots man.  The more you complicate the plumbing the easier it is to clog the drain.  

Car designers these days overcomplicate the car because they are driven by more and more features  rather than nailing down the reliability which is a much harder thing to do.  Toyota's philosophy is centered around this.  

The stuff that stands the test of time is the least complex like the Spyder.  Simplicity is divinity.  

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Yep, all of these closed loop systems that try to work together creates some interesting issues with which box has priority, internal timing in the controller and with its network communications, noise created with faulty wiring/grounds/power for the computers and sensors, etc, etc...

The technology is going through lots of growing pains and is not quite fully developed yet.

‘Simplicity is divinity’

-Dev

No truer words can be said. Our cars are a 2012 Cadillac SRX (wife’s car) and my Spyder and the 300ZX- the ZX is now 26 years old so it’s really no surprise I’ve had to install a few modules over the years (most recently a TCU for the AT on the car- sourced one from eBay for $85) and a throttle position sensor, but overall, it’s a very reliable car even at 110,000 miles. They Spyder is the Spyder (so basically as new with 36K miles on it) and the Cadillac is actually extremely reliable for  a GM product (and it’s our second- we had a CTS we gave to the wife’s son in law at 110K and it was quite reliable as well). I like looking at some of the newer cars and SUVs in the event I had to get one to replace the Cadillac or the Z (list now limited to Accords, Mazda 3, and Camry for me), but at present, what works works well and I know these cars so well I don’t want to get anything newer and no doubt much more complicated.

The Spyder reminds me of my first new car (1986 Honda CRX-Si...damn I loved that car and the Civic Coupe EX that followed it).

Regarding newer features, like connectivity . . .  Try those features of the car before you buy.  We bought a 2018 corolla last year and i assumed Toyota quality through and through,  but am heavily disappointed in the infotainment interface.  Even with software upgrades, connectivity sucks so much so that had I known, I would have researched other vehicles.  I don't know if the final decision would have been the same.   Other than that,  love our Corolla.   Same thing with our 2012 Prius V.  Love that car, but infotainment system leaves much to be desired.   Oh well,  good with the bad.

You also have to consider the fate of electronics.  Capacitors degrade with age and with it comes issues.  Much older cars are immune from this but at the same time older cars do not last as long and require frequent service.  

This is why one day I want to build a Factory 5 so I have complete control over the car and its systems.  There is so much political crap that gets in the way of making a car that they keep mucking it up to save the environment but what they don't realize is that they need to manufacture replacement parts that just adds to the problem because everything needs to be some kind of energy star which pushes  reliability to the edge  that is not sustainable and will need replacement early.  All of this waste ends up on some dolphins nose or in some landfill. 

 If the environmentalists  cared they should be promoting serviceable products that can be retrofitted with better parts as time goes on.  

Posted by: Uncle Mush

Regarding newer features, like connectivity . . .  Try those features of the car before you buy.  We bought a 2018 corolla last year and i assumed Toyota quality through and through,  but am heavily disappointed in the infotainment interface.  Even with software upgrades, connectivity sucks so much so that had I known, I would have researched other vehicles.  I don't know if the final decision would have been the same.   Other than that,  love our Corolla.   Same thing with our 2012 Prius V.  Love that car, but infotainment system leaves much to be desired.   Oh well,  good with the bad.

I have Pioneer radios (now several years old) with Bluetooth in both cars and for the Cadillac we have an Amazon Firefly USB/ aux jack BT device that works very well (surprisingly didn’t come with BT audio streaming but can make calls from the iPhones we have). The Cadillac being a 2012 model year was the last year for the non ‘CUE’ system (Cadillac User Interface) which from what I’ve read about it isn’t the best and kind of a PIA to use, so I’m happier with the setup we have. As for connectivity in the ZX and the Spyder, I now have BT audio streaming as well as phone access (mics in both cars) such that I can keep my eyes focused outside and not be constantly looking at the dash. I saw even the new motorcycles like the Goldwing and Venture (Yamaha- Star brand) have infotainment screens which to me is a very bad idea for a motorcycle. 

Posted by: NottaMiata

 

So the Missus, who adores her xB, is now thinking about a Matrix (says the Corolla is too big, LOL) or a Versa, and even mentioned a Kia Sol, because she sees a small xB there. Dunno about Kia, though. Makes me nervous. But Hyundai gets good reviews, so, dunno. And i have reservations about Nissan; i dont like the way they ride, and almost all of them are downright hideous (cough, Juke -- a true abomination).

I saw a Toyota iM the other day. Looks like Matrix redux. Anyone recommending Subaru or the ever-overpriced Honda?

Does anyone know about the Kia/Hyundai (Genesis' lol)'s? 

I heard they copied Honda plant assembly and engineering around 20 years ago after failing to miserably in every regard.

‘Simplicity is divinity’ -Dev

As an indigenous Anthropologist and ex-heavy equipment mechanic/toyo-tech, I know damn well why only Western society (cough* it's really Eastern*cough) embraced the wheel and other cultures disregarded it. You hit the nail.

The wheel concept is one of those things that cannot be determined on who adapted it first based on anthropology because we are finding out that civilization is far older now based on current  archeology digs.  

Its also unfortunate that western society in the past would discount other cultures  as primitive when in many respects it may have been the other way around.   

Being of eastern descent I often get perturbed when assumptions are made about my own culture which is so ancient that there is no exact date of its founding  and the best estimates are that it existed around the time of the Samaritans which was originally thought to be the cradle of civilization but not anymore. 

Civilization being only defined through the eyes of the colonizer, what folks are trying to describe are State and Imperial ideological societies. The primitive or civilized society more easily embraces our current system of social and political dichotomies. Backwards it really is. I use Eastern to describe the entire Afro-Eurasian continental conglomerate. To me, Western better describes the indigenous perspective of environmental resource management. Makes it easier to explain dichotomous ideological behavior.

No worries though, right and wrong information also fits into dichotomous behavior.

Quite a divulge from DD recommendations. I vote for the Subaru Crosstrek!

Carmax sells used Crosstreks for more than MSRP! They have to be good!