Results of Weekend Shopping for a New Car For My Mother

Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my Mother to
replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly was
looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well we
finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander.

We visited dealerships for Toyota, Honda, and Ford. We eliminated Nissan and
GM from the shopping trip before we began, Where my Mother lives there are
not any other choices within reasonable driving distance.

We started out at the Toyota Dealership. First car was a Venza. I really
liked this, but my Mother seemed completely uninterested. I am not sure why,
but it was pretty much out of the running immediately. Next was the
Highlander. This seemed to be an immediate hit. My Mother didn't want the
third row seat, but it seems that is almost a universal option. I still
preferred the Venza, but I wasn't the buyer.

Next we visited the Honda dealer. The Pilot was immediately eliminated as
wildly overpriced. My Mother liked the CR-V but it seems that dealers load
them all up with options that jack up the price. To get one equipped
reasonably you ended up with a sun roof my Mother didn't want and a price
higher than the Highlander.

The Ford dealer was last on the list. We immediately dismissed the Flex as
too weird. My Sister liked the Edge and tried to find reasons why my Mother
should get it. Unfortunately the dealer had none properly equipped for my
Mother. The MSRP on the Edge was the highest of the vehicles we considered,
but there were rebates that made the price competitive with the Highlander
and the CR-V. I was really impressed with the new Taurus and thought my
Mother should consider it, but She was firm in wanting something taller.
I'll add a few comments oon the Taurus later.

So in the end we finally settled on the Highlander. The Highlander was the
cheapest of the vehicles (4 cylinder, cloth seats, third row seats). The
CR-V was the most expensive, noisiest, smallest, but best equipped (leather
seats, sun roof, electronic temperature control). The Edge had the best
seating, biggest, most powerful engine, most attractive (to me), but got the
worst gas mileage, and was hard to find properly equipped for my Mother. All
the dealerships were very co-operative and none were busy. I believe my
Mother will be happy with the Highlander. It is a little dull, but it has
good room, decent gas mileage and the reliability is likely to be comparable
to the Fords she is used to (can't be better, since she hasn't had a problem
with a Ford in a decade). I was in agreement with the Highlander as the best
choice. It was the closest of the vehicles to the Freestyle (aka Taurus X)
that she owned. Too bad Ford decided to stop making those, I think if they
still made them, we would have just got another.

While the salesmen at the Ford dealer were trying to find a suitable Edge, I
sent a long time looking at a new Taurus. The one I looked at was a very
expensive Limited model with almost every option. It was $35K....way more
than I would consider paying for the car. Still, it was very nice. Looks
great, well assembled. My only gripe is with the width of the center
console. I can't figure why companies (not just Ford) have to install
consoles that eat up a third of the front passenger space. Because of the
ridiculously wide console, the hip space available to front seat passengers
is no better than in my much smaller Fusion. Other than this, I really liked
the car. If I was in the market for a new car, I'd definitely be interested
in a new Taurus - but not a Limited!

Ed

 

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

 

I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

 

She didn't feel that smaller cars used enough gas...

 

For parking lot bumper car?

 

If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
your family?

My apologies for leaving Ed's entire post in my reply, I did it to back
up what I referred to in my response.

 

If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment run in
your family?

My apologies for leaving Ed's entire post in my reply, I did it to back
up what I referred to in my response.

 

He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
For himself, he liked the Taurus.

Jeff

 

He thought the Venza was a better choice for his mother, not himself.
For himself, he liked the Taurus.

Jeff

 

She doesn't like cars that are easy to park, safe on the highway, or that can be
handled out of an accident instead of plowing its way through one. Having fuel
bills equal to the monthly payment is also important.

 

He didn't say that about the Venza at all.

 

He didn't say that about the Venza at all.

 

Perhaps not. But it was clear from the context, perhaps including
previous posts.

 

Perhaps not. But it was clear from the context, perhaps including
previous posts.

 

Maybe it was a preference as opposed to a technical need.

 

See what you started now, ya old fart????? 8^)

 

See what you started now, ya old fart????? 8^)

 

First of all, the Highlnader is not an SUV. You might get away with
calling it a "Crossover" but in no way is it an SUV. In my opinion, it
is nothing more than a Camry Station Wagon. Of the vehicles we looked
at, the Edge was the closest thing to an SUV and it wasn't
particularly close, although Ford tries to pitch it as one. The Venza
is called a car, but the only substantial difference between it and
the Highlander is the height of the roof and the level of standard
equipment. The CR-V would like to pretend to be an SUV, but it misses
the mark by hundreds of miles. It is just a Civic Station Wagon with
an AWD option. Even the Pilot, although a nice vehicle, can't be
considered a legitimate SUV. Anything that is primarily front wheel
drive and has very limited towing capacity is just a station wagon (or
I guess a "Crossover" which in my mind is the new name for "Station
Wagon").

My Mother never said she wanted an SUV. She just wanted something that
she could sit up in and see out of. Until she got a Freestyle, my
Mother always drove a full size vehicles (Galaxie, LTD, Grand Marquis,
etc.). The Freestyle was the smallest car she had ever owned, and at
least it gave her a decent view. Most cars that claim to be full size
these days wouldn't have qaulified as an intermediate in the 60's and
they all tend to place you very low and don't provide a very good view
of the road in a world dominated by large trucks and SUVs (my Mom
lives in a rural area and more than half the vehicles are large trucks
or SUVs).

Anyhow, if you think a front wheel drive, four cylinder Highlander is
an SUV, I think you are using a different definition of an SUV than
would be reasonable.

Ed

 

Why won't I be intereseted in the Taurus. It seemed to be a nice car,
very well assembled, and I am confident it would be at least as
reliable as the Toyota Venza. I liked the Venza too, but more for my
Mother than for me. She likes station wagons and the Venza seemed to
meet her needs. There is no longer a Taurus wagon. I did at least get
her to sit in the Taurus. She said it was a nice car, but I think she
didn't like it for the same reason she didn't like the Venza. She
wanted to sit up higher, which is why we ended up with the Highlander
(which has essentially the same drive train as the Venza, but is just
a little taller). As I said, if Ford still offered new Freestyles (or
the Taurus X) we probably would have ended up in one of those.
However, given my Mother's stated desires, it seems to me she
purchased the best vehicle.

My family as owned Fords for decades. I personaly have a Fusion and an
F150. Neither has had even one problem. The Fusion has 60k trouble
free miles. Given my very good experiences with Ford and my very poor
past personal experience with Toyotas, why wouldn't I consider a
Taurus? I know that current Toyota are a lot better than the junk they
sold 20 years ago, so I have no concerns about my Mother buying one.
Heck, if they made something I liked, I consider buying one also (for
sure if I wanted a Station Wagon, the Venza would still be my number
one choice).

Ed

 

Why won't I be intereseted in the Taurus. It seemed to be a nice car,
very well assembled, and I am confident it would be at least as
reliable as the Toyota Venza. I liked the Venza too, but more for my
Mother than for me. She likes station wagons and the Venza seemed to
meet her needs. There is no longer a Taurus wagon. I did at least get
her to sit in the Taurus. She said it was a nice car, but I think she
didn't like it for the same reason she didn't like the Venza. She
wanted to sit up higher, which is why we ended up with the Highlander
(which has essentially the same drive train as the Venza, but is just
a little taller). As I said, if Ford still offered new Freestyles (or
the Taurus X) we probably would have ended up in one of those.
However, given my Mother's stated desires, it seems to me she
purchased the best vehicle.

My family as owned Fords for decades. I personaly have a Fusion and an
F150. Neither has had even one problem. The Fusion has 60k trouble
free miles. Given my very good experiences with Ford and my very poor
past personal experience with Toyotas, why wouldn't I consider a
Taurus? I know that current Toyota are a lot better than the junk they
sold 20 years ago, so I have no concerns about my Mother buying one.
Heck, if they made something I liked, I consider buying one also (for
sure if I wanted a Station Wagon, the Venza would still be my number
one choice).

Ed