So I need to buy a car - clueless

[ElGaucho]

I agree, americans and big engines are just so 1970s. Right now I am 100% car-free (I mostly use my multitude of bicycles), which is the best thing that ever happened to me transportation-wise. But my last car was a VW with a 1.8 turbo engine, and believe me I didn´t need anymore. I am now contemplating buying a car with my girlfriend (I turned her bike friendly too) for weekends and such. A Honda Fit sounds like a nice option. Small car, small engine, but some smart things happening there with the seating and the inner height that allow you to carry a lot of things in there. Consider something smaller, more eco friendly, and get that american b ig car big engine mentality out of your head. Be the different one ... be the smart one. A Camry is considered a big car almost anywhere else in the world.

What do you people do with your cars that 90% of the rest of the world apparently don´t?

 

[elan]

2.4 is a small engine for that car. Given it has automatic transmission and the fact you are in texas so you will be using the AC its underpowered. You will fill it especially if you drive in the mountains.

 

[DandyDon]

2.4 is a small engine for that car. Given it has automatic transmission and the fact you are in texas so you will be using the AC its underpowered. You will fill it especially if you drive in the mountains.

Thanks. I try to be reasonable and there is a lot of truth to us Americans wasting too much and using too large, etc. and I have driven some small engine cars with AC in Mexico - but with our wide open spaces, distances between towns, etc. I am fearful of overworking a 2.0L yeah.

A 3.0L gets almost as good of mileage as a 2.4L, certainly better than my current 5.0L. It's a step in the right direction.

 

[elan]

I agree, americans and big engines are just so 1970s. Right now I am 100% car-free (I mostly use my multitude of bicycles), which is the best thing that ever happened to me transportation-wise. But my last car was a VW with a 1.8 turbo engine, and believe me I didn´t need anymore. I am now contemplating buying a car with my girlfriend (I turned her bike friendly too) for weekends and such. A Honda Fit sounds like a nice option. Small car, small engine, but some smart things happening there with the seating and the inner height that allow you to carry a lot of things in there. Consider something smaller, more eco friendly, and get that american b ig car big engine mentality out of your head. Be the different one ... be the smart one. A Camry is considered a big car almost anywhere else in the world.

What do you people do with your cars that 90% of the rest of the world apparently don´t?

You should understand that big engine mentality hatre that they feed you is just pure BS. The fuel consumption depends upon two factors weight of the car in the city driving and crossection on the highway. My mazda 3 2l engine has the same consumption as 3l bmw as those cars are similar in weight and crossection. Boy 1.6 l car i rented was consuming 2 l per 100 km more than those two. The smaller engines have to spin at higher rpms and thus break faster.
Another point that has to be taken into account is most north american driving is highway driving. Those small cars are not handling it well. They are easy blown off the highway very tiring to drive as their handling is fuzzy. Driving several hundred kms here is a norm and you get really tired driving a small car that far.

We rented a diesel mid size car in France and it had great consumption in the city but as soon as we hit the highway it started sucking gas as if there was no tomorrow. It ate half a tank in 250 km.

You have to research the local conditions before throwing blank statements like big engines crap unless you are locked in a city like NYC small cars Do you no good here.

 

[ramasule]

I entered a zip code in houston.
Find Your Car: Used Listings Near Houston, TX 77299 - AutoTrader.com

 

[DandyDon]

I entered a zip code in houston.

:laughing: Less than 600 miles...!

​

I think Lubbock is as far as I want to shop really. Some of the car dealers here do buy in Dallas as people trade cars in younger there than here.

 

[ramasule]

Find Your Car: Used Listings Near Lubbock, TX 79401 - AutoTrader.com

 

[ElGaucho]

I am not only against big engines but the big car mentality altogether. And the great American highway fiasco is just that. It's so 1950s it scares me. Going small engine doesn't guarantee better consumption, granted. But smaller car and smaller engine does. And the flimsy car on the highway thing is just crap. I did half of Italy all the way north to Nice and then Paris on a 1.6 liter 207 without a hitch. What the he'll are you talking about stability. If you want stability an American SUV doesn't give you any. But I guess big cars like guns are something strangely ingrained in US society. Please look at forward thinking cities in the US to get and idea how MANY
Things can and need to chane.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I am not only against big engines but the big car mentality altogether. And the great American highway fiasco is just that. It's so 1950s it scares me. Going small engine doesn't guarantee better consumption, granted. But smaller car and smaller engine does. And the flimsy car on the highway thing is just crap. I did half of Italy all the way north to Nice and then Paris on a 1.6 liter 207 without a hitch. What the he'll are you talking about stability. If you want stability an American SUV doesn't give you any. But I guess big cars like guns are something strangely ingrained in US society. Please look at forward thinking cities in the US to get and idea how MANY
Things can and need to chane.

He lives in the middle of no-where, Texas. Not the city or even most country. Routine highway speeds are 80+ with high winds daily, lots of trucks and huge distances to drive. Not really the ideal place for small cars (Yes, I have a small car (Corolla) and and SUV and live nearby, the small car sucks on the highway). The Camry WAS a great car, it is still a good car although Toyota is not the company it once was. Go for the 3 liter, the small engine will be over-worked and die earlier. With the right sized engine, you should have no problem zipping right past 200K miles.

 

[elan]

I am not only against big engines but the big car mentality altogether. And the great American highway fiasco is just that. It's so 1950s it scares me. Going small engine doesn't guarantee better consumption, granted. But smaller car and smaller engine does. And the flimsy car on the highway thing is just crap. I did half of Italy all the way north to Nice and then Paris on a 1.6 liter 207 without a hitch. What the he'll are you talking about stability. If you want stability an American SUV doesn't give you any. But I guess big cars like guns are something strangely ingrained in US society. Please look at forward thinking cities in the US to get and idea how MANY
Things can and need to chane.

Well you are falling into the same trap again without knowing the local situation.
You cannot compare the infrastructure of europe with infrustructure of north america because countries in europe are of a size of a province or state here. Province of Ontario is of a size of France with 5 times as little the population. So covering it with public transit will not work as effectively so people will have to use cars. You did itally to france few times thats fine thats hom much ? About 2k ? Some people commute 100km one way to work. And those tiny cars are just blown of a highway
And the OP was talking about camry not an SUV
I agree that in many cases people buy huge cars when they do not need them but its changing.
I would not consider camry 3l as an overkill. In north america