![[this old car]](http://diveintomark.org/public/2007/08/ptcruiser.jpg)
Lately it seems that all I do is rant about stupid shit and ask people how I should spend my money (CPU, iGroove, GPS). Today is not the day to break this pattern.
As you may have guessed, I need a new car. Not necessarily a new new car, but certainly a next car. My previous car has been declared a total loss, and my insurance company will shortly stop paying for the rental car that I haven’t even gotten around to renting yet because of my ongoing medical uncertainties. Thus.
It doesn’t seem to be a big secret that Google offers incentives for employees to buy hybrids, so today I test-drove a 2007 Toyota Prius and a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid. The Prius is a fascinating car in many ways, but it is simply too small for me in all 3 dimensions (headroom, legroom, and hiproom). The Civic Hybrid is very comfortable, very safe, very fuel-efficient, and would undoubtedly serve me well for many years. My father drives a 10-year-old Civic which has 107,000 miles on it, and he plans to drive it for another 100,000 miles, or until he can pawn it off on his grandchildren, whichever comes first. Unfortunately, the Civic Hybrid is the world’s most boring car. Not only does it lack options that I would miss, like a sunroof and leather seats, but it seems to go to great lengths to be the opposite of cool. It is so boring that I would need to take up a secret evil hobby to make up for its soul-crushing blandness.
The PT Cruiser, on the other hand, is totally badass. I have maintained an unhealthy lust for them since the day they were (re)introduced. Shaped like an SUV which has given birth to five children and gone saggy in all the right places. Guzzles gas like the Buick in Bloom County. (”Dump the milk, Edna! The cat drinks unleaded from now on!”) The base models are underpowered and have the pickup of an asthmatic smoker, but the high-end GT/Turbo models have over 200 horsepower. And a local dealer has a used model in just the right color, with leather seats and a sunroof, for only slightly more than my insurance settlement check. Which means that by this time next week, I could be driving the car of my dreams with no car payments.
Aw, what the hell. A little test drive wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it? The environment is overrated anyway.
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I’ve heard bad things about the PT Cruisers internals. I guess it’s just a Dodge Neon inside…?
You should get the civic and put decals on it, or paint it a weird color, or something like that. It takes balls to modify your car in any obvious way (it might look pretentious!) but if you are a real badass you’ll not only acquire an exciting car, but you’ll also utterly ignore/discard the resale value.
Personally I think a robot-themed Scion xB would be the bomb.
I haven’t been driving for too long, but the car I’m driving is actually a Honda Civic Hybrid. I’ve been in other cars, though not many, but the Civic is small but fast enough that I don’t find I’m really limited.
I dunno, again, this is coming from a somewhat inexperienced driver. But I like it.
There’s an audio input jack, meant for the headphone jack-type of cables. I plug my iPod into it, since the proper “iPod integration” cable is a couple hundred dollars. Works fine.
Oh, and only having to refuel once a week or two (but driving it almost every day) is pretty nice. :D
When my dad bought the car, I made fun of him for it…I thought it looked like a cute car for girls (it’s white). But, I’ve come to really like it…just wish it were black, but apparently Honda won’t make hybrids in black.
— Mike 
PT Cruiser? Well, to each his own. I got an average Camry from Hertz the other day and it was pretty nice.
Save the planet I’d say. Sagginess fades.
— JM
Well, you see my PT all the time. It’s fun while it was new. It’s fast, and it looks unique (especially mine). It’s very practical when it comes to moving people or stuffs. Good leg room in the back. And you can fold up (or totally remove) the back seats to fit bulky stuffs.
However, with the high output turbo, you are “recommended” to fuel it with premium gas. I’m not sure if I’ve ever gotten more than 20 mpg even on a road trip. You can do the Math on the gas money. The tank is only 14 gallons, so I have to fill it often. You probably would find the AC a bit weak, on these burning hot days, when compare to your old Nissan.
I think my next car would be a Japanese again. Something that would simply work for 10-15 years with fairly low maintenance, like my old Camry. Somehow, I don’t think my PT would last that long.
— Francis
My reqs were somewhat different, but I am 6′5″ and that ruled out a lot. I made a graph of the models I considered:
After many months, the German manufactured Rabbit has been great for the long and short haul. MPG has been true to their word and I can pack a ton in it.
— chris
Granted I’m European so my outlook might be a bit different, but I (accidentally) rented a PT Cruiser in the US once. The thing that got me about it was the turning radius. For some reason beyond my comprehension the wheels don’t turn very far. Even in wide American cities this becomes a hassle when doing anything requiring tight movement. The biggest SUV’s outmaneuver a PT Cruiser.
After my rental experience I saw someone getting on a ferry in a small town in Italy and watched in amusement as he took several minutes to line up his car with the ferry around a tight corner. It’s not just me.
— Onno
Here’s a little more info on the Prius. I know it’s already off the list but this is just for entertainment.
Saving the environment without looking stupid: A primer
— ercanj
Check out the Ford Escape Hybrid.
— Nate
How much do you want to spend? Since you work at Google, I assume money is no object ;-)
For $55k or so you can get the Lexus GS hybrid, which comes loaded with all the nice touches that the Civic doesn’t. It’s not as fuel-efficient as the Prius (25 city/28 highway), but what is?
Another alternative (for now) is to move up Honda’s line a bit to the Accord hybrid, which has 253 horses, leather interior, and gets up to 35mpg on the highway. Starts at $31k. Sales haven’t been great for this model (apparently hybrid buyers all want boring crackerboxes — who’da thunk?), so it’s been dropped from Honda’s 2008 lineup. The reviews on this one are great, though, so if you can find one, this might be the way to go.
I think you have to consider:
- How many miles you do a week? Less than 100 miles, then it does matter too much about fuel efficiency – building the vehicle probably has a bigger environmental impact.
- Can you make do with small day-to-day and rent large when needed? In the UK it is typically cheaper to get a taxi to and from an airport, than to park in the airport car park.
- Ideally your vehicle would be powered by something created now and not some past limited store (i.e. oil) – practically, that means nuclear*, wind or solar, which could mean electric or bio-diesel.
- Hybrids can have a bigger environmentally impact, than conventional cars, in their manufacture and disposal.
Ultimately, your heart will say one thing and your head something else, but your heart will probably win. Your head has to sell your heart something they both can live with.
*I’m not sure practical nuclear is – you hear reports that containment and disposal of waste uses a good proportion of the equivalent of the power generated.
— Bobby
Have you considerede a Lexus hybrid? I´m sure they have plenty of room in most dimensions, plus a healthy capacity to accelerate.
— Bergman
That’s funny—the European Civic looks pretty damn cool.
The PT Cruiser, on the other hand, is totally badass.
And here is demonstrated the vastness of the cultural gap between Great Britain and America.
If you don’t drive much, just get whatever the hell you want (want=desire, not want=vulcan logic). Especially if it’s within your reach. It’s incredibly satisfying to look in the driveway and see a car that you REALLY think is cool.
— Julian
The last time I drove one, the PT cruiser was a a heavier Dodge Neon with the same engine. Needless to say it was horribly underpowered. It did feel quite nice and open inside so it’s a great car as long as you don’t have to drive it uphill.
My sister-in-law has a PT cruiser. Unless they’ve done something (read: everything) to improve build quality, I can’t imagine owning one. Pieces fall off the car if you look at it cross-eyed. That said, her husband drives another Chrysler product, the Magnum, and it seems pretty solid.
For whatever it’s worth, I’m driving a Subaru WRX, and if it were totaled today, I’d probably buy another one.
I personally have never cared for the PT cruiser, but there’s no accounting for taste. ;-) I would go with the Civic and put in an after-market sunroof. The Google incentive would more than cover the cost. You leather seat people are sick, I tell you.
My friend’s dad put 600,000 miles on his civic before replacing it. It still ran fine.
I’m not sure if Google offers incentives for just hybrids, but if you are looking to expand your options, I’d checkout diesels and try to run them on bio-diesel.
You’re damn right about the standard PT Cruiser.
I was “upgraded” during a car rental almost a year ago to one and they have zero guts.
It’s too bad the Prius was too small for yah, they’re really fun. Did you check out the honda hybrid accord http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-hybrid/
Much less boring than the civic and still in the same price range as the Prius.
-Mikeal
— Mikeal
I drove a Prius for a bit and the whole UI felt really beta. I’ll wait for the next release.
Volkswagons fit big people. I’m 6′ 3″ and in our Passat I’m two notches up from the farthest back position in the seat and I can wear an Akubra hat without touching the roof. The New Beetle may be the best big person car on the market — big doors, tons of front seat room. Get the turbo and have fun.
> I drove a Prius for a bit and the whole UI felt really beta. I’ll wait for the next release.
That’s how I felt too. Carmakers have had decades to get the dashboard “right”, and the Prius dashboard is too radical a change (for my taste). I got the feeling that it was designed for fetishists… of mileage and efficiency. The wacky infographics, the real-time MPG charting, it’s all over-the-top.
The salesman said the 2008s would be pretty much the same, but maybe he was just talking out of his ass.
— Mark
Two words: smart car.
> The New Beetle may be the best big person car on the market
Sadly, all models are 2-door and the backseat is practically nonexistent (says my 6′2″ father, who had the displeasure of riding in one for 5 hours). I have two kids and two carseats, and neither of them are getting any smaller.
— Mark
I’d be very wary of the PT. it’s rather top-heavy for the size of the wheelbase, which means that like many SUVs it has a tendency to flip over. Also, if it does flip over, the roof has an unfortunate tendency to pancake in on the occupants.
In the ‘Big-Person’ department, I’d recommend the Volkswagen Passat Wagon, though I haven’t had a ride in one for a few years, it was *very* roomy and comfortable.
In the ’sporty SUV-like vehicle’ department, check out the Toyota RAV4. It is suprisingly roomy, safe, and fuel efficient, and gets top marks from Consumer Reports. The RAV4s sell well enough that Toyota doesn’t have to do commercials for them, nor do dealers usually include them when they have sales.
> like many SUVs it has a tendency to flip over
Seeing as how I’ve totaled 3 of my last 4 cars (and cracked the quarterpanel on the 4th, a gorgeous green 2-door Saturn Coupe that I loved to death but — wisely — leased), safety is one of my concerns, yes.
Unrelated: goodness, they’re making hybrid SUVs now.
— Mark
>It is so boring that I would need to take up a secret evil hobby>to make up for its soul-crushing blandness.
For my part, I think your suffering would probably benefit the rest of us.
Ah, [br] works in your preview, but is stripped in the real comment.
MINI Cooper. I’m 6′1″ and fit very comfortably. I’ve got three kids but I’ve put two huge toddler car seats in the back successfully with no complaints. Added bonuses: my kids absolutely adore it, it’s truly badass, and it’s fairly good on the gas mileage (unless you drive it like it wants to be driven).
— Bill
Will you be driving across the country with this car? In this case fuel availability should be of your concern. A hybrid vehicle is generally the better choice for this reason, because you can always fill up with what is generally available and generate electricity as you go.
Plus, fuel efficiency and/or speediness from dual engines working together in bursts of acceleration are a nice bonus.
— Bergman
I would check out the Camry Hybrid, my dad has one, and I love driving it when we go play golf. All dimensions are big enough for adults and golf clubs. In San Diego you get like 3K off from one of the dealers putting the sticker at 24k for the entry which has bluetooth, smart key system, dual climate control etc… Leather and Navigation cost a few grand more if you need/want it.
— Merrick
Our 1999 Passat wagon has room in the front and back and gets a reliable 29 MPG with the 1.8l turbo. Reasonably sporty, too, handles remarkably like my 1991 Miata. Build quality and mechanical reliability is clearly a step below the top Japanese cars, but still pretty good.
I was riding in the back of friend’s new Prius and it took a lot of self control to avoid laughing out loud while both people in the front struggled to adjust the fan speed on the AC. Golly, knobs work so much better than Meta-Shift-Up Arrow for your fan.
They also make an Accord hybrid nowadays, but it would probably suffer from the same terminal uncoolness as the Civic. I’ve had a Jetta 2.0T for a couple months that I’m happy with, but I can make no comments about how long they last. If throwing premium fuel down its gas-hole doesn’t appeal to you the Jetta TDI (diesel) gets better mileage and doesn’t do the whole “belching black smoke” thing. And they’re definitely cooler-looking than a Civic or Accord.
— Jason
At least hybrids are a step in the right direction.. Funny how similar “hybrid” is to “hydrogen” because thats the future I think.
Leather seats are evil.
— Wu Ming
“Leather seats are evil.”
Too true. At least, here in Las Vegas and the rest of the desert southwest. Not as evil as vinyl, though.
— Anonymous
Looking forward to seeing what sort of secret evil hobby you come up with! (Perhaps simply “owning a PT Cruiser.”)
— misuba
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