Automobiles

[Marvinlungwitz]

^^^ Will watch the video tonight.

Now that I think about it, all season auto tires are like my current go-to bike tire, a moderately wide Gravelking smooth tread. Not great for unpaved roads and trails, but better than a 23 mm road tire. Not great for fast paved asphalt, but better than a fat knobby.

[j44ke]

It sounds like EVs did just fine while stranded on 95. A few reports led me to this video. Be sure to read the comments!

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Interesting, thanks!

[bigbill]

Sad story of tire abuse here - I had Nokian Hakkapeliitta's but during the first year of covid, I just completely blanked on switching them back to my regular tires. Had I removed them, they probably had at least another season in them. When my brain returned in September, I realized that the tires in the corner of our garage were the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires and the Hakkapeliitta's were still on the car. A lot of things went by the wayside in those first several months of 2020. For me it was tires. Anyway, by then the Hakkepeliittas were behaving as if they had gone square, so I switched back to the Michelins and drove them all last winter and then this winter with few if any real problems. I take the car out of traction control and drive it in sport mode and things are fine. Figuring out how to turn off traction control on the Volvo (was not clear from the manual at all and language made it counterintuitive almost) was the big improvement, not the snow tires. Snow tires still did not allow me to drive up our driveway if the traction control was still on. We definitely get snow and ice all winter here, but even just twenty miles north, snow tires seem like a no-brainer. Here they are helpful in some situations, but if you know how to drive in snow, you can do it with good all or 4 seasons tires. And traction control off.

The one thing that rotating out 4 seasons tires with winter tires does is prolong the life of your 4 seasons tires. But it increases your winter tire budget by 100%. And if you are doing it right, you are managing a second set of tires with rims and pressure sensors. And that prolongs the life of both tires, but it also a hassle. I used to work on cars I owned all the time, so I'm pretty burned out on cars. AWD seems like an advantage to me because (as mentioned above) it not only adds some rear-end traction but along with it the car is usually designed for a bit higher clearance. I'm thinking Town and Country here, not SUV. But 4WD seems more of a real difference than AWD, so if money was burnable, we'd have a small 4WD truck for the limited number of really rough days. Maybe emergency plowing. Hauling stuff. Otherwise the Volvo does fine. And it would last longer not being used as a pickup truck like I do now.

Cars are stupid. I'd rather not have to care for them like a horse. Ours is the most dependable car we've ever had, and I still don't like having to do the 4 or 5 things required to keep it in good shape.

rant over

When I had my large SUV (Expedition), the traction control prevented me from getting up my snow covered driveway as well. My foot and connected brain were better. When we relocate to Wyoming, I intend to get a farm truck (we'll have horses and 12 acres), something like a 20 year old Chevy/GMC with an extended cab, V8, and four wheel drive. I can put a plow on it and a few hundred pounds of bagged gravel in the bed. Our place is ten miles from town so it can be the bad weather grocery getter as well. We'll have the Escape for road trips at 33 mpg in AWD.

[zachateseverything]

"All-season" tires cover a pretty wide range of winter performance. You have "ultra high performance all-seasons" which have just enough tread siping and a compound with a low enough Tg to not get you killed in a light winter dusting. Then you have products that are more of a 4-season tire like the Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready that have almost snow tire performance in the winter but also won't turn into goop if you leave them on your car all summer.

Running separate winter and summer tires is a good option if you have the storage space and capital to do it. Tires are consumables so you're really only out the cost of a set of rims to make that happen.

There are isolated cases where turning traction control off can get you up something that you otherwise wouldn't with it engaged. When the controller is properly tuned it can do things that a human just physically can't. But with how variable surfaces are it's possible that it's going to cut power too early in specific situations. Turning stability control off though is the kind of thing Darwin awards can be handed out for.

but the safest way to drive in winter is always to just not. if the roads are bad stay off them as much as possible and give yourself plenty of time to get to where you need to be.

[j44ke]

"All-season" tires cover a pretty wide range of winter performance. You have "ultra high performance all-seasons" which have just enough tread siping and a compound with a low enough Tg to not get you killed in a light winter dusting. Then you have products that are more of a 4-season tire like the Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready that have almost snow tire performance in the winter but also won't turn into goop if you leave them on your car all summer.

Running separate winter and summer tires is a good option if you have the storage space and capital to do it. Tires are consumables so you're really only out the cost of a set of rims to make that happen.

There are isolated cases where turning traction control off can get you up something that you otherwise wouldn't with it engaged. When the controller is properly tuned it can do things that a human just physically can't. But with how variable surfaces are it's possible that it's going to cut power too early in specific situations. Turning stability control off though is the kind of thing Darwin awards can be handed out for.

but the safest way to drive in winter is always to just not. if the roads are bad stay off them as much as possible and give yourself plenty of time to get to where you need to be.

This 100%. And what we've been practicing. I think cars are actually so good now people get over-used to being able to drive whenever they want. And that gets them into troubles no car can solve adequately.

The Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready is actually the tire that started me thinking about a one tire plan. Our friends have them on their Volvo now and like them.

[cp43]

IME, certain all seasons are not bad at all in snow. The Continental CrossContact LX25s we put on my wife’s SUV are quite good, in fact.

I’ve always wondered what one should drive in the spring and fall, or for that matter, the occasional light winter, when temps can range from 70s to below freezing +/- snow within days. And then the opposite a few days later. Too much hassle to change wheels that often, IMO, and given that snow tires are horrid in warm temps and summers tend to be terrible in the cold, with or without the white stuff.

(I’d be all for dedicated tires if I lived somewhere the seasons and conditions are sharply defined. For now, it’s all season tires).

Nokian, and maybe others, make winter rated all season tires. I had a set on my Tacoma (now sold) that were as good a winter tire as the dedicated set on my wife's car, but I didn't have to take them off in the spring. Something like that could be what you're looking for.

Chris

[AngryScientist]

Yea, certain all-season tires have come a long way. If they have the three peak designation, they are just nearly as good as a real dedicated snow tire in my experience.

These days the only time i drive in the snow is when i'm on business travel, which means a crappy rental SUV and crappy tires. Couple years ago I hit a moose (well, "rubbed" is more like it) in Alaska that sent my SUV spinning across the highway. Luckily there was no one else on the road or it would have been ugly. You would think in Alaska they would put good winter tires on rental cars, but they definitely do not. They DO read you the riot act about not putting fish in the car, but snow driving - you're on your own, lol.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Neighbor went for a two-toned Mercedes Maybach GLS. It's big, but the back seats are like flying in first class.

You can get the same type of backseats in the RR Cullinan. They call it immersive seating.

A little more pedestrian, but a few months back I put a deposit down on a new whip and the passenger seats recline and have an ottoman. Once my kids (5 & 9) are out of car seats/boosters they are gonna be spoiled. But, they'll probably never realize how good they have it. I might be more excited about the 1500w inverter.

264195_Ottoman_Seats_54700fa4-5c68-4a1a-aea2-a1cc6d62af21-prv.jpg
2021-toyota-sienna-second-row-seats-1500x1000.jpg

[lumpy]

A little more pedestrian, but a few months back I put a deposit down on a new whip and the passenger seats recline and have an ottoman

What a world we live in.

[robin3mj]

Is that the newest Sienna? We have a 2015 that has a lot of life left, but I am really liking the new Woodland edition: hybrid, AWD, 1” lift, etc.

I am 100% sold on minivans.

[Scott G.]

Glad Mercedes has finally figured out how to design a Buick.

Exterior wood cladding, venti-ports and a padded leather roof
will be available in 2023. DerGrosserPlutoPanzer, option code Skdfz 251

[j44ke]

Exterior wood cladding, venti-ports and a padded leather roof
will be available in 2023. DerGrosserPlutoPanzer, option code Skdfz 251

[AngryScientist]

Is that the newest Sienna? We have a 2015 that has a lot of life left, but I am really liking the new Woodland edition: hybrid, AWD, 1” lift, etc.

I am 100% sold on minivans.

I'm also a minivan believer. Have you driven one of the new Siennas? I'm not sold on this new hybrid concept they have. It seems like a half measure to me. 35mpg? that's really not great at all, i think my gas ody get's close to 30, and the idea of 245 HP net? I wonder what that means, that's not a ton of available hp for a heavy AWD van. I like my v6 odyssey a lot because it has adequate power, i wonder how these new hybrid drivetrains feel?

i would much much prefer a bigger battery bank and plug in hybrid set-up where my wife could do all the day to day errands within 40 or so miles from the house on battery only and have the engine available as a range extender for long trips.

I very much think we will get there, but i'm not ready to make the leap yet, i think the next gens will be so much better. good thing my honda has a lot of life left in it.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Is that the newest Sienna? We have a 2015 that has a lot of life left, but I am really liking the new Woodland edition: hybrid, AWD, 1” lift, etc.

I am 100% sold on minivans.

It is. I considered the Woodland, but the lift increase is actually only .6" more (for nearly 7" total, perhaps they are stiffer, though) and it only comes in black and cement color with cloth interior. FWIW, the Sienna is now offered with only one powertrain option. It's the same as the Highlander and RAV4 Hybrids; seems like a proven platform, but I'm no expert. Frankly, I would probably never buy a new car, but my wife's step-father retired from the Camry plant and I found one dealer an hour away who is still honoring the VSPP program during these current times of supply-chain woe. That and I have a 2011 RAV4 Limited with 85k and a brand new paint job on Toyota's dime that should command a pretty good price once I have that van in hand and can sell it.

I'm also a minivan believer. Have you driven one of the new Siennas? I'm not sold on this new hybrid concept they have. It seems like a half measure to me. 35mpg? that's really not great at all, i think my gas ody get's close to 30, and the idea of 245 HP net? I wonder what that means, that's not a ton of available hp for a heavy AWD van. I like my v6 odyssey a lot because it has adequate power, i wonder how these new hybrid drivetrains feel?

i would much much prefer a bigger battery bank and plug in hybrid set-up where my wife could do all the day to day errands within 40 or so miles from the house on battery only and have the engine available as a range extender for long trips.

I very much think we will get there, but i'm not ready to make the leap yet, i think the next gens will be so much better. good thing my honda has a lot of life left in it.

I've never owned a minivan but I was able to drive a 2021 Sienna LE for 45 days recently. It gets actual 36/36mph and maybe even a little better in some circumstances. Low speed power feels good given the battery (I think it's battery only until you hit 15-20mph) and I would expect this to be further improved with an AWD model because of the additional rear wheel battery. My experience with on-ramps, merging in traffic, and other quick demands for power were honestly better than I expected, but I went in with low expectations. Yeah, I'm not really sure how meaningful HP ratings are anymore for something like a minivan that has a hybrid drivetrain. It's a more of a tool (with some very nice creature comforts) for us; that's how I'm looking at it. The one I drove had 17" wheels so it had good tire height and the ride was very comfortable. I think the one I ordered (Platinum) will have 18" so along the same lines (don't want 20"). During one stretch of several days our only use of it was back and forth to my daughter's school and some other things close to our house. A message popped up that the battery didn't have enough power so it was only engine until I traveled far enough to charge it. I talked to a buddy with a Hybrid RAV4 who lives in my neighborhood and he's never seen that. Probably a rare occurrence.

[KonaSS]

Minivans are so practical and probably the vehicle that 90% of people should be driving if they need something larger than a standard car.

I really miss my Honda Odyssey. I let it go for a song. It was mechanically perfect, but the interior was pretty rough from my kids and lots of travel, and paint was peeling on the outside.

[j44ke]

I think we might get a new car if this:

https://www.volvocars.com/us/v/cars/v60-hybrid

came set up like this:

https://www.volvocars.com/us/v/cars/v60-cross-country

Instead Volvo wants us to buy this:

https://www.volvocars.com/us/v/cars/xc60-hybrid

or this:

https://www.volvocars.com/us/v/cars/xc40-electric

[rec head]

Who has the best "self driving" or automatic safety features? I use self driving in quotes because I know that I can't get in my car in the garage and tell it to drive me to the trail head. After driving a car with adaptive cruise control I'm hooked but what is the other good stuff if any?

[Saab2000]

Who has the best "self driving" or automatic safety features? I use self driving in quotes because I know that I can't get in my car in the garage and tell it to drive me to the trail head. After driving a car with adaptive cruise control I'm hooked but what is the other good stuff if any?

My VW has decent tech but I honestly don’t like most of it. I turned off the lane assist because it occasionally followed the wrong lines.

Watch some videos on YT of the Tesla self driving beta testers. It’s alarming to watch and makes me think we’re still a long ways from safe self driving. And I say this as a Tesla investor and fanboy.

To answer your question on who has the best I’d likely answer Mercedes-Benz based on what I’ve seen online.

[j44ke]

Adaptive cruise control works really well unless you have other cars on the road. Typical highway driving in the NY area is anything from cars stopped to cars going 100mph. Typical scenario is car zips wildly in front of you to take a nearly missed exit from the left lane and adaptive hits the brakes and the person behind you who doesn't have adaptive control and isn't paying the fck attention while riding 10' off your rear bumper tags you but good. Hasn't happened to me but it has nearly happened and would have happened if I wasn't watching.. So you cannot use it all the time. It isn't a click-a-button any time you get on the highway and coast. You have to be aware of what it can and cannot do.

The one place it is really helpful is on long boring stretches with a 55mph speed limit and lots of cops. Speed trap. Then you can set it and minimize your risks of a speeding ticket from a heavy foot. And stretch and so forth. But once the traffic density goes up, turn it off.

[Lionel]

This lane assist stuff is absolutely maddening.