The Geek's Guide to Car Shopping, Part 1
There's been plenty of interest in hybrids, clean diesels, and other eco-friendly vehicles lately, whether for environmental reasons or simply because of the rising cost of gas. But there also comes a pointusually when it's time to make a purchasewhen you must decide whether any of them are practical, or fit your budget.
Alternative-fueled or not, car technology has advanced significantly in recent years. The latest gas engines are cleaner and more efficient than ever before; a few even approach the eco credentials of a hybrid power train. Meanwhile, some of today's economy sedans sport cutting-edge navigation systems, hard drives, and Bluetooth connectivityonce the exclusive domain of BMW and Mercedes.
There's also the safety aspect. Organizations like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conduct frontal-offset-, side-, and rear-impact tests that go far beyond the government's outdated crash standards. And electronic stability control, GPS-enabled safety services, and crash-avoidance systems make earlier advances like anti-lock brakes and airbags look downright pedestrian.
That's not why I'm shopping for a new car, though. It's more about practicality.
I own a 2005 Mini Cooper. It's a base model with a five-speed manual transmission and no factory options. The Mini is a blast to drive and pushes all the right enthusiast buttons, down to its sharp steering and sonorous exhaust note. In regular mixed driving, I average about 30 mpg, although that dips into the mid-20s with traffic and city driving. What's more, I work at home, so the rise in gas prices hasn't affected me the same way that it has others.
So why look for another car? For starters, my car is small (being a Mini and all). Over the years, I've come to realize that even as a single person, a four-door sedan or hatchback would have been more useful to meeasier to pack with friends, some of whom have small children. You haven't lived until you've shoehorned a car seat into the back of a Mini Cooper!
The Mini is also behind the curve in many ways. The Mini has no electronic stability control, navigation, Bluetooth, or location-based services (for safety or otherwise). The car does have factory iPod connectivity, but it's crippled: The stereo supports exactly five playlists by pretending that the iPod is a CD changer. Cueing up Death Cab for Cutie's Narrow Stairs album means knowing it begins at position 44 on "CD" 5, and thenwhile drivingpressing the Forward Seek button 43 times.
Also, despite its tiny profile, the Mini's green credentials are suspect. Its 1.6-liter engine, sourced from Chrysler, has outdated emissions controls and earns an EPA Air Pollution Score of just 2 (on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the cleanest). It also requires 91-octane premium fuel. In short, while no one will accuse this car of creating another hole in the ozone layer, more environmentally friendly options are available. So my first order of business was putting together a list of goals. Would it be possible to find an alternative-fuel vehicle that's roomier, more practical, more technologically adept, and significantly better for the environment? next: Mainstream Options >