What Car Should I Buy Megathread : Cars
The Insight, Camry Hybrid, and Rav4 hybrid are all great choices, but they're all sort of in different form factors. The Insight is based on a compact car, the Camry is a mid-size/family sedan, and the Rav4 is a compact crossover. Choosing between them is simply about balancing how much you want to spend with your practicality needs. I'll talk briefly about each category. The Insight is my favorite compact hybrid this year, simply because it does the best job of replicating a traditional gas-engine car. It's hard to tell you're in a hybrid at all, yet it gets crazy good gas mileage. Not quite as efficient as the Hyundai Ioniq, and its reliability rating isn't quite as high as the Toyota Prius, but it comes close in both respects and it's a nice car to drive. 29k, but it does add leather seats, powered and heated front seats, a moonroof, nicer sound system, cooler wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, and navigation, among other things. A mid-size sedan is gonna have overall better build quality and interior space than a compact. 31k MSRP) for comparison. In the crossover world, there aren't a ton of traditional (non-plug-in) hybrid options, and the Rav4 is one of the best. 33k. The Niro looks like a crossover, but AWD isn't an option. Honestly, test driving all of these and going with your gut (after getting some prices from each dealership) is probably going to steer you in the right direction. Compare features, comfort, driving experience, and body style preference, and see what you think!
The leather is hand-fitted and feels very plush, thick and warming. In fact, the longer your sits in them at anything above room temperature, the more you wish for perforations and active ventilation. The DB9鈥檚 interior is perfectly plush, but the lighter-colored suede headliner is the only bright note in an otherwise dark carcoon. Rear visibility comes straight from the 鈥淲hat is behind me is not important鈥?school of gumball racing, and makes the electronic parking assistance beeper a mandatory annoyance. The DB9鈥檚 gigantic blind spots also necessitate Volvo鈥檚 latest high-tech electronic lane change assistance and warning system, which is unfortunately unavailable. To start the DB9, you fit the plastic key into the ignition and turn. Nothing. Oh right. Put your foot on the brake, push the dash-mounted crystal 鈥減ower鈥?button and the twelve-pot powerplant rumbles to life. It鈥檚 all very dramatic, but couldn鈥檛 Aston just borrow a keyless entry system from Toyota.
A little message appears on the dashboard display: 鈥淧ower, Beauty, Soul! 鈥?If the DB9 conformed to the UK鈥檚 truth in advertising laws, it would鈥檝e read: 鈥淧onderous, Expensive, Fragile! 鈥?I should have revved the motor a few times, switched off the car, got out and stared at it some more. Alas, I drove it. For a two-seater holstering a V12 this menacing sounding, forward thrust is distinctly lacking. On the positive side, the DB9鈥檚 automatic transmission is both flexible and responsive. Downshifting via the large aluminum paddles is a pleasure; leaving things to the computer is almost as satisfying. Hang on. Why does that Subaru keep leaving me at the lights? I need to flog the old girl a bit harder- which seems a bit churlish. I should be able to simply outwaft the bastard. At the first corner, I instantly regret my excess speed. The brakes are hard in their initial application, not unlike a Porsche 911 but the DB9鈥檚 wooden feel remains, sapping confidence.
Turn-in is as flaccid as a dead flounder. Steering is vague, heavy and unpleasant; it鈥檚 as if there鈥檚 a gyroscope biasing the DB9 toward a straight line. Not to put too fine a point on it, cornering is something of a chore. Equilibrium is only restored when the road unwinds again. Driving the gentlemanly Aston requires a strange sort of rhythm: straights good, stopping bad; smooth roads good, corners bad; exhaust note good, stop light bad. In light of the DB9鈥檚 unremarkable handling, the harsh ride quality is completely unacceptable. As is the incredibly expensive Linn 950 watt stereo: an incessant buzzing sound emanating from one of the rear speakers destroys all hope of suitable bass response. And I scoffed that a trickle charger was part of the standard kit until a few days rest drained the battery. An inattentive Aston owner must then learn to remove the rear seats to access the battery thoughtlessly sealed inside the trunk by the electric lock.
The DB9鈥檚 driving dynamics are a disaster. Luckily, the Aston has carisma. No doubt: emerging from an Aston Martin DB9 tells the world that its driver is a serious player (not playa). All you have to do to maintain the fiction is not tell anyone there are plenty of lesser (i.e. dramatically cheaper) cars that go faster, handle better and are more fun to drive. I drive an Aston Martin, so do yourself a favor and buzz off Mate. Aston Martin Racing has hosted a pre-season test for both the factory team and private outfits at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France, following in the footsteps of the first such event that took place last year. As well as the two-car Gulf factory team of DBR9s that will compete at Le Mans, there were several customer DBR9s on track. The brand new Charouz Racing Systems LMP1 car powered by Aston Martin - which will be driven at Le Mans by Jan Charouz, Tomas Enge and Stefan Mucke - also took to the circuit for the two-day test.
