Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by Steve_P

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

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

[...] a crossover that does over 30mpg, check out the Nissan Juke, real enough for ya!

Originally Posted by dbd33

My God that's ugly. It looks like the Murano.

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

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

Originally Posted by 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

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

Just because someone doesn't live in Canada permanently doesn't mean they don't travel there and live there more often than their home country or have family and friends who've grown up and lived in Canada for certainly longer than someone who has emigrated to the country!

Originally Posted by iaink

I thought you drove some huge thing

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

And of course on cue is the mandatory 'I live in Canada, so I know everything' mantra. never mind that I know Canadians who've lived in Canada and been Canadian for much longer than you! :sigh:

Originally Posted by el_richo

Will you be selling your other R8 on ebay with your other belongings before you move in with the in-laws?

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

I've been doing a lot of research on cars in Canada for when I finally move there with my OH.

I'm not sure if you're aware but you also have to pay sales tax on used cars in Canada, daylight robbery I know! and not only that, you will have to pay tax based on it's wholesale value from the Canadian Red Book, regardless if you pay less than that! Don't know about you but I really can't understand how they get away with charging sales tax on a car every time it's sold, daylight robbery if you ask me

Anyway as for hatchbacks, there are loads in Canada that we also have in the UK, you just need to check the manufacturers' websites. Here's a list of a few you could check out:

Mini Cooper
Nissan Versa Hatchback
Mitsubishi Lancer Sportsback
Volvo C30
Mazda 3
Lexus CT200h (nice little hybrid hatch)
Smart
Toyota Yaris hatchback
Volkswagen golf
Audi A3
BMW 1 series
Fiat 500
Ford Fiesta

Just be prepared that in North America in general, the trims are a lot lower quality than the European models due to much higher standards of the European market. For example higher level trims of Nissan in the UK usually come with sat nav standard whereas in North America, sat nav has to be paid for as an extra on top of supposed higher level trims.

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

Also, as a general rule, stay away from the American brands (lower quality, lower specs, lower reliability) unless you're on a tight budget as they are the cheaper brands in Canada. Japanese cars are more reliable and better equipped but also more expensive. European models are the most expensive and you may be surprised by some of the costs for supposedly cheaper models. In fact some of the European models cost exactly the same if not more than what you would pay in the UK.

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

I'm afraid I'd have to disagree. Whilst I acknowledge that the American car brands have made enormous strides in recent years to improve along with their European counterparts, even by your own admission it's 10 to 20 years behind. While American brands have started to improve standards recently, European and Japanese brands have continually improved.

VW's made in Mexico? Ok well that explains a lot about those then.

I'm not just bashing American car brands, I have owned several over the years, I'm just saying that they're still not quite as good or reliable as European or Japanese makes. That's not to say that all American cars are unreliable and rubbish because they're not. There are some very good brands and makes that I would consider buying when I emigrate to Canada, but that said, I will almost certainly end up buying a Japanese or European car.

Originally Posted by soontobecanadianresident

And yet you quote something I said that has nothing to do with cars and winter and big roads

Why don't you remind me exactly what the 'load of hogwash' I was speaking refers to?

Besides, my opionion is my personal opinion, you don't agree fine but that doesn't make it 'hogwash'.

And of course on cue is the mandatory 'I live in Canada, so I know everything' mantra. never mind that I know Canadians who've lived in Canada and been Canadian for much longer than you! :sigh:

Originally Posted by FlyingDutchman6666

What sort of a discount should I be aiming for on a new vehicle?

Originally Posted by iaink

So what do they drive? You yourself said you had never driven anything big here in the winter.

If you want a big car, get a big car, just dont offer advice about the reliability or lack there of of domestic manufacturers or give reasons to drive a big vehicle that are not grounded in reality, thats all I am asking.

Everyone is welcome to post here. Some people actually come here for advice based on personal experience. I leave it to them to decide what serves them best.