dbd33

I must say I rather enjoyed my stint with the 1973 Olds 98 Regency Brougham. Now that was a big car. Not excusable, but big.

iaink

There is a major disconnect between govt mileage figures and real world economy I think was the point.

Would you believe that wind resistance actully causes a vehicle to use more fuel... a fact the government bods ignore

An illustration of the difference between the dry theory of what works and doesnt, and the benefits of real world on the ground experience perhaps.

R I C H

Here's a quick list of what my neighbours drive - 25kms from downtown, on rural acreages, so not the first place that gets plowed in the winter:

VW Jetta wagon
Jeep Wrangler
diesel Smart car
Dodge Caliber
Ford Focus
Ford F350
BMW 1 Series
Ford Taurus

You know, it's actually perfectly possible to get around in a very normal compact car here. Your preconceptions are badly skewed I think.

Atlantic Xpat

So if gas prices climb and the exchange rate tanks even further, you're really screwed then?

soontobecanadianresident

Thanks, I will buy what I want. And really that's the whole point, at the end of the day if you want a big car then buy a big car if you want a small car then buy a small car. It's all down to personal preference.

If you think that big cars are not more suited to big roads then fine but that's what I think. I've done enough driving in Canada and North America to know what I feel I like and I've driven in both summer and winter weather.

I'm also not saying that bigger is better, given the choice I'd probably buy another R8 and drive that out there, but then it's not practical for my needs!

MikeUK

My pennies worth

I used to drive a small SUV 4x4 Ford escape to and from work, its now the family throw crap in back local run-a-about..

My ford focus with winter tires is safer in all most all winter conditions, it manovers better, stops quicker, and allround feels better..

The only thing the escape does better is drive in 1ft deep snow, on those days which are less than about 3 or 4 days, I'd wait for the plough to pass or stay home on a snow day (just like all the rest of teh cradles at work)..



[size=1Plus tip for the 4x4 crowd, drive in 2wd, once you get in a probelm switch on the 4x4 and drive out..
If you get stuck in 4x4 nobodies coming in to get you out !![/size]

soontobecanadianresident

Don't really see your point about the gas prices, you see they usually tend to rise in other countries when they rise in another

Exchange rate fluctuation shouldn't really bother a serious investor with a diverse portfolio across several markets. And if you think the UK pound is going to tank significantly against the canadian dollar any time soon, then you clearly have very little understanding or knowledge of the forex markets.

iaink

Exactly, so dont come up with some BS reason to do it!

The topic of cars comes up here quite often. The general way they go is someone asks cos they dont recognise half the brands, someone else says they want a big car or SUV cos of the winter, and then the people that actually live here and have experience of buying the wrong thing for the wrong reasons and eventially got over the novelty of spending $500 a month on "cheap" gas point out that there is actually snow clearance on the roads here, and as long as you have winter tires a bigger vehicle is just going to cost you more to buy and run and not be of any benefit in the winter after all...

Weve all been there once upon a time, but its noticable that the posters here who have lived in Canada for a long time just drive regular cars. There is nothing terribly special about driving in Canada that winter tires cant fix.

Steve_P

Apparently not any more in the U.S. at least.

Since 2008 they have been using a real world method, who knew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_ec...008_and_beyond


Not sure if the Canadian Government has changed how it gets their figures

Oakvillian

No, I think you're missing the point. Sure, fuel is cheaper per litre over here, but driving distances are much, much larger on average (a 1500-km round trip for a weekend away is small beer; that would be an unusual journey for most in the UK) and cars - even small hatchbacks such as the OP was proposing - tend to have larger and less fuel-efficient engines than their European counterparts. It makes no sense to buy a crossover just for the sake of it because the roads are bigger (IMHO it would make no sense to buy a crossover for any reason, ever, but I appreciate that others have different priorities).

High-centre-of-gravity SUVs and trucks handle worse than hatchbacks, have less interior space for a given footprint, and provide worse fuel economy. It's a matter of physics that is not really disputable. The number of rollovers (and one hears of two or three on the traffic news every single morning) of SUVs compared to regular sedans or hatchbacks is alarming - albeit in my direct experience anecdotal rather than scientific.

Oakvillian

where are you going to be living? Canada's a big country. There are plenty of Smart FourTwos on the roads of southern Ontario all year round.

Steve_P

As there are in Calgary.

iaink

Its still not a real world test, its all done on rolling road test stands, so wind resistance at real world speeds does not appear to be a factor as far as I can tell

Gremmie

You really do talk a load of hogwash about cars and winter and big roads etc, get over here and live here for a few years then pontificate on the subject.

Steve_P

Aah...I was thinking they had a track. Oh well.