Ultimate Road Trip Vehicle?

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I like big cars. 1991 Cadillac Brougham. 1995 Chevy Caprice. 1997 Chrysler LHS. 2002 Lincoln Continental. Having owned all those, the best overall road trip ride is the Honda Odyssey. Period.


What year Honda Odyssey? I wouldn't want my transmission failing in a middle of a road trip.

 

[gfh77665]

What car do you drive that has ZERO POTENTIAL PROBLEMS?

To answer your "smart" question, I drive a 2006 H.O. I drive it like the others, 95+% highway. Zero trans problems. Now, lets hear what you drive.

Are 2000 Lexus "perfect vehicles"?

 

[gfh77665]

2000 lexus rx300 transmission problems

There you go:

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1878b8/555


Also, Edmunds says your 2000 lexus rx300 has "Significant Problems" with its engine. Wouldn't want an engine failure on a long trip, now would you?

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Crown Vic (or Grand Marquis/Town Car). Ridiculously roomy, colossal trunk, and very very reliable.

Dad has Grand Marquis thats loaded to the gills and is scary comfy on the road.. you could do Main to Cali in perfect comfort..

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
2000 lexus rx300 transmission problems

There you go:

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1878b8/555


Also, Edmunds says your 2000 lexus rx300 has "Significant Problems" with its engine. Wouldn't want an engine failure on a long trip, now would you?


There are far more problems with the Odyssey. My point was that you would want something reliable and that wouldn't break down without any notice in a middle of a trip with your children.

Now, if you did any research what so ever, you would realize that the engine "problems" are due to sludge, and as long as you change your oil on time, then you're fine. Same with the transmission, change the ATF on time and you're good. Reason there are so many failures is that Toyota doesn't recommend that you EVER change the ATF.

It's pretty easy to dig up dirt on any vehicle, keep in mind the people online are here to complain, not to brag about their vehicle and how it needed no repairs. Just cause you read something online doesn't mean it will happen to you. You are lucky enough to have an 06' Odyssey so hopefully you won't encounter a transmission failure, so best of luck to you. But, I'd be weary of the VCM. BTW: I wasn't trying to be an [censored], it was a serious question. Not sure why you took it the wrong way. It was pretty obvious why I asked what year your van was... Because the weak trans. was fixed eventually by Honda, and I wanted to know whether your van had a stronger trans or not. Didn't mean to tick you off.

My uncle has 380k miles on his original transmission in his 99' RX, so it's obvious that with proper maint. they will last. And, there a ton of members on Club Lexus with over 200k miles on their original transmission. I have 186k miles on my original transmission and I bet it shifts better than how your Odyssey did when NEW. I bet you won't find many of those on a Odyssey, because their transmissions barely make it to 50k miles. Not to mention the VCM issue.

Get your facts straight.

 

[Stanley Rockafeller]

Just completed a 5000km round trip to the prairies with a 2012 300C. Boy that car was awesome on the curves and the long winding roads thru the Rockies. On the long uphill roads when the little Civics and Corollas quickly lost steam, we were able to power thru thanks to the help of the 5.7 HEMI.

Sure the car was comfy with dual sunroofs etc. but overall i didn't like the high-speed handling of it. Sure it blasted along up to 90mph with ease, but the handling really suffered when negotiating high speed curves.

But I gotta admit, around town the 300C in black with 18 inch chrome wheels and chrome accents REALLY stood out from the crowds and always got heads turning. The v8 really didn't consume too much, esp. when consideirng that with a 4cyl (Like the 2012 Sonata we were offered) it would really have to struggle to the point of not being fuel efficient anymore. not to mention how stressful it can be when trying to pass ppl. and you just dont' have enough ponies under you hood to get the job done.

Honestly, I really would like to do a trip like this with a Volvo S80. Sure they don't have nearly the hp or tq, or handling, but the interiors and fuel eceonomy over a 5.7 v8 shoudl make up for it.

Anyone drive an S80 over long trips?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: hypervish
But, I'd be weary of the VCM.


If you approach Honda's VCM like you do a Toyota sludger engine, you get the same results: change the oil with good oil every 5,000 miles and the engine will pretty much run forever. Problem solved, in both cases.

 

[JHZR2]

MB 300SDL from the mid 1980s.

 

[rjundi]

My wife picked a 2007 MDX used from coworker for us mainly due to ability to haul two extra kids, AWD required for ski get away, and her Honda experiences.

This vehicle on 6hr road trips we have taken the seats are absolutely comfortable front and rear for 4 adults. Plenty of luggage space, nice navigation system built in, wonderful power and it manages 24MPG in our last trip to Canada and no issue doing 80MPH even up long steep VT highway climbs. It is funny watching a Prius doing the same speed and then all of the sudden dropping down to 50MPH when the batteries run dry.

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: hypervish
But, I'd be weary of the VCM.


If you approach Honda's VCM like you do a Toyota sludger engine, you get the same results: change the oil with good oil every 5,000 miles and the engine will pretty much run forever. Problem solved, in both cases.


That is true.

 

[Win]

My 2004 Pontiac GTO / Holden Monaro was the most comfortable long distance car I've ever owned.

My Xj12 isn't bad, but the horrendous fuel consumption leaves little choice but to stretch one's legs frequently.

I suspect our Xj8 would be an excellent long distance car, but here to Dallas is about as far as it's gone.

 

[rcy]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
It is funny watching a Prius doing the same speed and then all of the sudden dropping down to 50MPH when the batteries run dry.
:

Does this actually happen? When I had my RX400h, I never once saw this. Ontario is by no means mountainous, but several snowboarding trips to Whiteface, Jay Peak and Mr. Tremblant I never saw it either. Driving in the city I can see the traction battery discharging to a low level, but on the highway, mine never budged from the 80% charged level as the engine was almost constantly running.

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: rcy
Originally Posted By: rjundi
It is funny watching a Prius doing the same speed and then all of the sudden dropping down to 50MPH when the batteries run dry.
:

Does this actually happen? When I had my RX400h, I never once saw this. Ontario is by no means mountainous, but several snowboarding trips to Whiteface, Jay Peak and Mr. Tremblant I never saw it either. Driving in the city I can see the traction battery discharging to a low level, but on the highway, mine never budged from the 80% charged level as the engine was almost constantly running.


Of course not. If the battery level get's low the ICE kicks in full force.

I've drive my brothers 2010 RX450h to Florida at an awfully fast rate of speed, and never once had it slow down because of the battery draining.

What can I say, hater's gonna hate.

 

[Nick R]

I'd have to say, of the cars I've driven, our 03 Expedition
was by far the best roadtrip car we've had. Comfortable, roomy, quiet, great highway ride. Only downside was mpg, best we ever got was I think 18mpg on our drive to/from florida a couple years back.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
I'd have to say, of the cars I've driven, our 03 Expedition
was by far the best roadtrip car we've had. Comfortable, roomy, quiet, great highway ride. Only downside was mpg, best we ever got was I think 18mpg on our drive to/from florida a couple years back.
I believe it. I drove a buddy's Eddie Bauer once and could just picture a road trip in it. Mileage would suck but what are ya gonna do?

 

[rslifkin]

My Jeep is awesome on road trips. Given a flat, straight stretch of road, you can take your hands off the wheel for 30 seconds at a shot, and it just goes straight. It rides pretty well, and I've yet to find a hill (including one 9% grade) that it can't pull in OD with the TC locked. The interior is nice and comfy too.

At some point, I'm probably going to pick up an E34 or E39 M5 as a second car. M3s are tempting, but I don't want to buy a small car, and end up eating the 18 - 20 mpg (at 60 mph) to take the Jeep on a road trip because it's a better highway cruiser.

 

[GearheadTool]

Originally Posted By: rcy
Originally Posted By: rjundi
It is funny watching a Prius doing the same speed and then all of the sudden dropping down to 50MPH when the batteries run dry.
:

Does this actually happen? When I had my RX400h, I never once saw this. Ontario is by no means mountainous, but several snowboarding trips to Whiteface, Jay Peak and Mr. Tremblant I never saw it either. Driving in the city I can see the traction battery discharging to a low level, but on the highway, mine never budged from the 80% charged level as the engine was almost constantly running.


Sounds logical. I was impressed by the Prius. I dont see it losing power/stopping running... Ever.

 

[rslifkin]

I would think it's quite possible that if you're at sustained WOT, the car will be pulling power from the batteries to assist the engine, leading to a drop in power when the batteries get low enough for it to stop giving the assist. I would think you'd have to be foot flat on the floor for at least a couple of minutes for this to happen though, anything less and it wouldn't be running on engine power and pulling from the batteries significantly.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I never would have considered a CR-V to be a good road trip vehicle, but I just put 1,700 miles on mine in two days, for a total of 27 hours behind the wheel over the two days. I must say, I was very surprised how comfortable the car stayed.

I had to make a quick trip out to Arkansas to help my folks take care of a few affairs at my grandfather's house. My grandfather is passing away, and they're getting things set up for an estate sale, etc. So I drove out there on Friday and came back on Monday.

I averaged a very good 28.2 mpg on the trip. That's going through the Appalachian and Great Smoky Mountains near the NC/TN border and hauling tail down I-40 in TN at 75-80 mph. I was extremely happy with the mileage. I was also very happy with the way it drove. It never had enough power to pull hills in 5th, but it would downshift into 4th and we'd just cruise on up. The Grade Logic Control was very apparent; it would smartly refuse to upshift back into 5th until we crested the hill, even if I had to temporarily let up for a curve or a merging vehicle. SO it never did the in-and-out of top gear thing; this transmission programming is very good. I had the fairly new Michelin Latitude Tours aired to the placard 30 psi for the trip, so no overinflating there to boost mileage either. Oil is Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20, but I doubt that made any real difference.

On the trip home, I had the cargo area packed with tools and other items I kept from the house and the barn. I wish I could have fit his '48 Ford 8N tractor in the back, but I can't... I wouldn't really have any place to put it anyway. But we did get the tractor running for the sale, so I was pleased about that.

Anyway, 13.5 hours each way with a number of stops included, and the CR-V stayed very comfortable. I never felt fatigued, the seats stayed very comfortable and supportive, and the car never missed a beat. I like this car more every time I drive it.

 

[BearZDefect]

A little off topic complaint here about cruise control on some modern vehicles.

From Hokiefyd's description, his CRV seems to do what it needs to.

The trouble with our 2009 Sonata is the poor cruise control programming. Set the cruise control at 75 mph, watch the speedometer and observe:

- Flat road, all good.

- Head downhill, car gradually slows down to 72 mph.

- Level out, start going back uphill, the programming opens the throttle wide. The car accelerates up the hill after a lurching shift down to 4th gear. Before reaching the top it has reached 76 mph.


Wow, we gained 4 mph going uphill. No wonder it has to downshift every little grade. Doesn't help mpg either. Those numbers up there are not typos, and these are not steep grades.


I realize this issue in general is not uncommon, but if I watch the speedometer on my 1997 i30 in the same situation the speed will vary by no more than 1 mph. 12 year older vehicle has better cruise control? Sigh.