Looking for a new snow/wallet-friendly vehicle...ideas?

[chairmanoftheboard 0]

Not sure if this is even the right forum, please set me straight if there's a better option....

Drive a Hilux Surf at the mo., love it to bits, plenty of power, space and....unfortunately cost. While there are without doubt worse guzzlers, 8-9km/litre's starting to get too spendy for my taste, that plus the tax and insurance on a 3.4 is just getting beyond a joke, esp. the ridiculous way petrol prices are going up. Not only the financial cost, but an ongoing 'green' niggle is starting to get diffcult to justify to that extent too.

Been looking around, 4wd/AWD is a must in my experience, we like to get up and out there and spinning around, parked up on the wrong side of the road trying to get chains on isn't the look for me. 4wd/awd + snow tires is where we're at. Mostly it's the wife and/or a friend and I, v. occasionally a fourth member.

Soooo, in order to make any change worthwhile I'd like a fair jump in mileage/benefits so have been thinking about yellow plate keis or similar....like the look of the Jimnys for sure, if anyone has any experience or alternatives, please let me know.

cheers

[dizzy 0]

if you read japanese, u should try the auctions on yahoo. rakuten doesn't have much variety, though.

[Ezorisu 0]

I've got a 80-series Land Cruiser which would get worse fuel economy than your Hilux! I'd definitely look at a Jimny. They're built very well and I've heard nothing but good things about them. My neighbor had one and a good friend had another larger Suzy (Vitara) and they were mechanically solid vehicles. Only thing is the size. If you can fit everything you need inside, then it's good to go. In really slippery or off-road conditions, the short wheelbase does tend to want to spin a bit more than a longer vehicle though.

 

How about a Subaru Impreza?

[Fattwins 0]

If you are taking the highway and intend to drive at or over 80kphr then you are going to burn through gas.

 

Honda fit 4wd

hybrid 4wd

Nissan march

 

I drive a civic 2wd and I live in Hakuba. As long as you dont try to drive up steep things it is fine.

[tsondaboy 0]

I am thinking about the new Estima Hybrid. 4wd drive and hybrid car benefits.

[thursday 1]

I stayed off the hybrid as the extra cost for the vehicle would pay for my petrol for 10 years.

 

In 2 years Toyota will have a plug in hybrid with lithium ion batteries, in 5 years we'll see the fuel cell cars.

[NoFakie 45]

With a plug in hybrid (i.e., the next-gen Prius) you'll have to pay more for the extra batteries. I think the engine is going up to 1.8L as well. I can't see them selling it for the same price as the current model. The fuel economy will be slightly better off gasoline, but electricity is only cheaper if you have a timed meter and recharge the car overnight only. Overnight power is 9.35 yen/kWh, which is about half the price of gasoline. Daytime/evening power is 23 yen/kWh which is more expensive.

 

Subaru and Mitsubishi have (small) electric cars out fairly soon. Honda have a hydrogen car that can be leased from next year, but only in very small numbers.

[NoFakie 45]

We've got a really old widebody Surf and a hatchback Prius, and the latter isn't all that much smaller inside than the former. The Surf is just higher off the ground and is easier to put a roof rack on for your gear. If you want lots of space though, a van beats an SUV hands down. I'm going to ditch mine and get one now we've got two kids.

[Fattwins 0]

dont buy a delica they suck

[NoFakie 45]

I always do a double take on Delicas in Hakuba to check whether a gaijin friend is driving it. Especially green ones!

 

I was thinking of getting a Nissan Elgrand. Probably a cheap one about 10 years old. Anybody ever owned one? They're big and really comfy inside.

[thursday 1]

Elgrands look really good. But hold on; the Alphard 350 is on sale now!!!. Really comfy, but shame the driver needs to be a chauffeur.

[thursday 1]

I thought alot about the RX400h. I then decided that I needed a 7 seater people carrier so that baby could travel in comfort and safety with his grandparents. Then I thought about the Estima hybrid. But like I said above, the premium for the technology would pay for my petrol for 10 years.

 

So why price it so ridiculously if you want people to jump on the bandwagon?

[Fattwins 0]

The dealers in town are laughing at my mitsubishi purchase. Never buy another mitsubishi again. The dealers in town said the el grand is a good car and well priced. they said the hiace is in high demand but that at 70000 kms the fuel pump is dead. They rekon the price is too high and that other car types are better.

[tsondaboy 0]

Hiace has a very strong engine FT and can take you up almost any road. Thats what we usually have in the university to curie stuff up the mountain.

[NoFakie 45]

The new Alphard is amazing inside. It's like business class on a plane! According to Japanese wikipedia, its Toyota's answer to the Elgrand, which in turn is modelled after the Chevy Astro. The Elgrand completely outsold the old Toyota Granvia and the Grand Hiace (basically posher vans than Estimas), which is why Toyota brought out the Alphard. Chevy Astros are pretty mad inside too, with ridiculous amounts of wood panelling. Lots of kids then go and pimp them even more.

 

You can't get Alphards that are old enough to be cheap enough for us, so an Elgrand I think it will be. I don't want to spend a lot since its our second car and I work at home.

 

As for the Chairman

 

Lose some size and get close to 200% better mileage= Prius

Lose more size and get close to 100% better mileage, 4WD possible= Fit, Vitz

Lose yet more size and get close to 100% better mileage, 4WD possible and lower taxes= "big" kei like a Wagon R

Lose size, 30-40% better mileage, very cheap to buy s/h= generic non-performance station wagon like a Caribu. Get stick shift for better mileage.

 

Remember that you can always fit a roof box if need be. Don't leave it on when its not needed though, especially on the highway.

[tsondaboy 0]

Mr W. how many km's can you usually do on your Prius with a full tank?

And how big is Prius tank by the way?

[NoFakie 45]

My missus' old car was a Mitsubishi RVR. It was like a shrunk 4WD Estima with a really tilted windscreen and a sliding rear door, but only two rows of seats. It was two litre but had no power. The transmission went at 80,000km.

 

She replaced it with a Eunos/Miata/MX5, which was a top laugh. There's not much zip in the 1.6, but it hugs the road.

[Fattwins 0]

The used hybrids are increasing but it still isnt right for us.

I dont need power to get from the station and back Tsu. In fact im considering 2 kei vans with roof boxes even.

[tsondaboy 0]

I thought you wanted something strong to take you up to the MTB trails.

If you need it just for the town then probably a kei van is your best option. You are talking about second hand, right?

[Fattwins 0]

I need something to pick people up in. Ill use the lifts or the cars at the local hills for mtbing.

The rest of the time ill ride up.

 

In 2 years we are going to buy a new vechile I think. The wife is tired of the problems of buying new. Her new jimmy lasted 10 years before we got rid of it still in good shape.

[soubriquet 0]

Jimnys have a narrow track and a high centre of gravity. If there's a rollover looking for somewhere to happen, then they are it. I wouldn't fancy driving one from Tokyo to Nagano on a snowy Friday night.

 

For kei vans, the Suzuki Joy Pop turbo with deDion rear suspension is the go.

 

For max economy plus comfort and safety go for any Toyota/Nissan/Subaru 1.6 to 2.0 litre AWD wagon.

 

El Grands and the like will drink like fish. Drag-coefficient (Cd) is nice, but you have to multiply it by frontal area (CdA). Pushing a big box through the air is pushing shit uphill as far as economy goes.

[JA2340 16]

We've had one (a Jimny, that is) for some years now. Yes, there's a bit of roll under heavy cornering, there's also a bit of side slip under a heavy side wind.

 

That aside, there's no problems. It has done well over 100K km, and hasn't put a foot wrong.

[chairmanoftheboard 0]

Just checking in, wow, thanks for all the input folks. Actually surprised this hasn't been discussed more here. Still looking around, checking out a few more options > hadn't realised there are also 1300 Jimnys too, also the Pajero Mini looks pretty slick. Will check out the Fit etc for sure too, cheers again.

[me jane 0]

For most needs I reckon 2wd (as long as it's fwd) would be fine. They use less petrol than 4wd/awd.

I use my company 4wd Estima to go skiing and it is great for space, comfort and traction on the snow. Hate it on the motorway at speed though, I usually drive a Stagea (rwd - husband's choice before I met him) and with the Estima I can feel the wind pulling it sideways. It just doesn't feel as safe or solid as the Stagea. If I was buying a car I wouldn't go for one of those high sided things, just something with a reasonable amount of ground clearance.

I remember reading somewhere a while back that 2wd's were statistically safer on snow due to the way they are generally driven. Drivers were able to better sense how slippery the ground was and better adjust their speed/breaking distance.

[soubriquet 0]

Narrow track + high CoG + live axles.

 

Sooner you than me.

 

Jimnys are ace offroad, seriously useful in desperate going. At least the equal of a Landcruiser. Two seasons ago I used my emergency rope to pull one out of a snowbank on a totally straight road. The driver lost it over a bump in a straight line and stuffed it. Good luck matey. You'll be watching the traffic go past on that snowy Friday night. Hope you're patient.