Do you think there is something inherently wrong with me driving something called a "mini-van"?
Yes
2(10.5%)
No
17(89.5%)
So I'm still fretting over this, even though I'm not buying until May, but that's just kind of who I am.
Today concern is size. I use my car for 4 basic things: hauling stuff (mostly groceries but sometimes other things), driving to Pittsburgh and Canada, taking greg to work once a week and myself to taiko classes once or twice a week. A little less than half my milage on my car is driving the long trips. I'm also hoping that taiko will be requiring me to haul more drums, but I'm really not sure how much of a factor, if any, that should be in deciding on which car.
Here are my top two choices and my current car and how they stack up size wise (the pictures are close to being on the same scale:) The second number is the difference from my current car.
| length | width | height | wheel base | mpg | |||||
SW2 (current car) | 176.9 | 66.7 | 54.9 | 102.4 | 24/34 | ||||
Mazda5 | 181.5 | 4.6" | 69.1 | 2.4" | 64.2 | 9.3" | 108.3 | 5.9" | 21/27 |
| Prius | 175 | -1.9" | 67.9 | 1.2" | 58.7 | 3.8" | 106.3 | 2.9" | 48/45 |
So here are my concerns. Will I feel that extra 4.6" in my length? Is there something about size that maybe I'm not considering?
Do you think I will notice the size difference when driving and parking?
I don't think it's a big enough difference to be worried about.
1(11.1%)
you will notice those extra ~5 inches
2(22.2%)
you will sometimes notice them, but not enough that it should change your mind about what car to get
6(66.7%)
Please tell me any "and my car was too big/just small enough" stories you might want to share.
There is also the issue of mpg.
The mpg of the mazda5 is...
So much worse than the pruis, you should be really sure you need the extra cargo space
2(28.6%)
bad, but not something you'll notice, given you only drive ~5000 miles a year
3(42.9%)
bad, you should save the environment! support the efforts to become less dependant on foriegn oil!
0(0.0%)
bad, but the bottom line on hybrids environmentally isn't as good as we'd all like to beilve.
1(14.3%)
Not that bad, given it's transport flexibliy.
1(14.3%)
