Tesla's new SUV wannabe
Here's my obvious gripe: This ISN'T an SUV = it's a standard four-dour sedan. Despite the claims, there's no third seat here - a basic for anything I would consider in the SUV or minivan class.
And the range of only 250 miles isn't really a selling point to anyone here in the West.
And the range of only 250 miles isn't really a selling point to anyone here in the West.
What is your SUV favorite, blarman, and what are your requirements? (Just curious; I do not sell cars ;^)
My req's in an SUV:
- steel frame. I want to be driving something as close to a tank as possible.
- towing. It has to be able to do more than 10,000 lbs and come with a hitch installed. I like toys and the ability to pull out tree stumps.
- 4-wheel drive. It's not an SUV without it. Period.
- Min seating for eight ADULTS. When I go water skiing or river rafting, I'm hauling adults, not 60-lb children.
- heavy-duty suspension. It's not an SUV if I can't take it off paved roads without worrying about ruining the shocks/struts.
- high clearance. Again, if I'm worried about the undercarriage getting beat up going over a speedbump - let alone on the mountain roads where I'm going hiking/hunting - it's just not an SUV.
Things I don't care about:
- GPS. That's what my phone is for. (Though having USB outlets would be on the "nice to have" list)
- OnStar. Thanks, but I don't need someone knowing where my vehicle is 24x7 - nor do I need some bored hacker or law enforcement officer driving alongside to decide to control my steering, etc. (Yes, this has been proven - see my post on it from a couple of months ago which contains a list of affected vehicles).
- heated seats.
- electric windows and door locks. Yeah, they're nice, but not worth an extra $2K to me
- in-dash DVD player. I don't need any distractions while driving. (Though if you want to mount one in the ceiling for passengers in back, I'm okay with that)
- electrically adjustable seats. The mechanical slide rail works just fine - and I can fix it myself.
- automatic transmission. Though I can't find an SUV with a stick, I love the manual transmission - especially if it has a 1L gear for putting boats in the water.
- fancy tires or rims. Mine are going to be covered with dirt anyway.
A friend who worked as a doctor also loved his Suburban because he had seen what people looked like in the emergency room too often.
He wasn't crazy about my 2- seat convertible ;^)
Coming from the West, however, I still see a lot of need for gas-powered vehicles, however. Electrics might work fine for the daily commute in the big cities, but they don't cut it out here in my neck of the woods.