Our Fit is likely dead due to an accident. If it lives, I'll make a thread about it. Everybody's fine, thankfully.
We spent a good bit of time shopping for a very likely replacement. We considered a new Fit, and promptly got sticker shock from the local dealers. Used Fits are also selling for crazy prices around us. $11k for a 2010 with 100k miles, no thanks. Somebody will buy it, though. We looked at a Jetta TDI, and a Scion iM. Those cars were eliminated for various reasons, like recalls or not driving well.
We have a deposit down on a CPO 2013 RAV-4 XLE with AWD. The RAV drove like a larger Fit. This frankly surprised me. I was expecting it to be wallowy and not responsive. Instead we found a vehicle with fairly taut suspension, limited body roll around turns, and quick to respond to steering inputs. Toyota isn't known for its vehicle dynamics, so finding they had done their homework on driving dynamics was nice. We also liked the visibility out, and the amount of space it has inside. The AWD we could take or leave. It has it, so we'll take it. The tires it has aren't that great in the winter based on reviews, so it'll get a set of snow tires as well.
For why a CUV instead of a wagon or hatch, well, we tried. We don't want to deal with long-term Volkswagen TDI ownership issues, BMW/MB wagons are outside the budget except for well-used ones, and smaller hatches around us are priced like CUV's. I'm not thrilled, but given our location and needing a vehicle quickly, this was the best compromise we could have.
Pictures once we get it. Otherwise, there'll be a good story to tell.
We spent a good bit of time shopping for a very likely replacement. We considered a new Fit, and promptly got sticker shock from the local dealers. Used Fits are also selling for crazy prices around us. $11k for a 2010 with 100k miles, no thanks. Somebody will buy it, though. We looked at a Jetta TDI, and a Scion iM. Those cars were eliminated for various reasons, like recalls or not driving well.
We have a deposit down on a CPO 2013 RAV-4 XLE with AWD. The RAV drove like a larger Fit. This frankly surprised me. I was expecting it to be wallowy and not responsive. Instead we found a vehicle with fairly taut suspension, limited body roll around turns, and quick to respond to steering inputs. Toyota isn't known for its vehicle dynamics, so finding they had done their homework on driving dynamics was nice. We also liked the visibility out, and the amount of space it has inside. The AWD we could take or leave. It has it, so we'll take it. The tires it has aren't that great in the winter based on reviews, so it'll get a set of snow tires as well.
For why a CUV instead of a wagon or hatch, well, we tried. We don't want to deal with long-term Volkswagen TDI ownership issues, BMW/MB wagons are outside the budget except for well-used ones, and smaller hatches around us are priced like CUV's. I'm not thrilled, but given our location and needing a vehicle quickly, this was the best compromise we could have.
Pictures once we get it. Otherwise, there'll be a good story to tell.