A List - The Best Cars and SUVs of 2018 & 2019
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Date: 2019-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 9
Henry Holcomb
While I do agree that practicality is more important than horsepower, I place safety at the top of my list. I scrutinize the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) when considering which new vehicle to purchase. Just looking at the designation of Top Safety Pick is not good enough. As an example, the Kia Soul fell off my list when I read the following portion of the IIHS crash test report: Passenger injury measuresA high head acceleration occurred when the dummys head hit the dashboard in the Institutes test, indicating that head injuries would be possible in a crash of this severity. The risk of significant injuries to other body regions is low in the two tests, taken together. Passenger restraints and dummy kinematicsIn both tests, the dummys head contacted the frontal airbag but then moved off toward the right side. In the Institutes test, the head moved so far forward and to the right that it hit the dashboard. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage in both tests to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed. The safety of my passengers is more important than anything else and when there is access to these crash test result, failure to use them when considering which vehicle to buy does not make sense to me.
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While I do agree that practicality is more important than horsepower, I place safety at the top of my list. I scrutinize the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) when considering which new vehicle to purchase. Just looking at the designation of Top Safety Pick is not good enough. As an example, the Kia Soul fell off my list when I read the following portion of the IIHS crash test report: Passenger injury measuresA high head acceleration occurred when the dummys head hit the dashboard in the Institutes test, indicating that head injuries would be possible in a crash of this severity. The risk of significant injuries to other body regions is low in the two tests, taken together. Passenger restraints and dummy kinematicsIn both tests, the dummys head contacted the frontal airbag but then moved off toward the right side. In the Institutes test, the head moved so far forward and to the right that it hit the dashboard. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage in both tests to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed. The safety of my passengers is more important than anything else and when there is access to these crash test result, failure to use them when considering which vehicle to buy does not make sense to me.
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Ohio grandma
You mentioned the Honda CRV, yet made no mention of the problems in cold climates with gasoline mixing with the oil. China has banned the CRV, Canada has issues, and the northern U. S. in fact, there is possibly a class action suit going forward in New York. I dont just want to know about how a car handles, I want to know about reliability, ongoing serious issues with vehicles, such as the Ford Edge and the water pump that is built into the engine which fails at about 70, 000 miles on. I dont buy a car for four or five years and trade it in, I maintain my vehicles and drive them for over a decade. I presently have a nearly 15 year old Ford Explorer that looks nearly new. I take care of what I own and dont think Im alone in wanting to know the longevity of vehicles. 35, 000 is a lot of money to spend on something for just a few years to trade it in. I just found your site. Thank you.
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You mentioned the Honda CRV, yet made no mention of the problems in cold climates with gasoline mixing with the oil. China has banned the CRV, Canada has issues, and the northern U. S. in fact, there is possibly a class action suit going forward in New York. I dont just want to know about how a car handles, I want to know about reliability, ongoing serious issues with vehicles, such as the Ford Edge and the water pump that is built into the engine which fails at about 70, 000 miles on. I dont buy a car for four or five years and trade it in, I maintain my vehicles and drive them for over a decade. I presently have a nearly 15 year old Ford Explorer that looks nearly new. I take care of what I own and dont think Im alone in wanting to know the longevity of vehicles. 35, 000 is a lot of money to spend on something for just a few years to trade it in. I just found your site. Thank you.
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Daniel Sherrill
I think the Ranger would be my pick. Since its been missing for years, there will definitely be a lot of people who want to know what its like to live with and there wont be much content on that for a while. The RAV4 is so tried and true that I just dont see it being worth buying for the purpose of long-term reviewing. I could be wrong but I bet many RAV4 buyers dont even spend much time researching as many of them are simply Toyota faithfuls (rightfully so. Plus, you of course already have the Durango so why not add a fun tailgater?
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I think the Ranger would be my pick. Since its been missing for years, there will definitely be a lot of people who want to know what its like to live with and there wont be much content on that for a while. The RAV4 is so tried and true that I just dont see it being worth buying for the purpose of long-term reviewing. I could be wrong but I bet many RAV4 buyers dont even spend much time researching as many of them are simply Toyota faithfuls (rightfully so. Plus, you of course already have the Durango so why not add a fun tailgater?
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Olhos Verdes
Alex, How about giving us a category for the best Hatch? The new Toyota Corolla Hatchback has been a great entry, but hatches werent even mentioned. Also, why put the Ioniq Hybrid as best car when its a hybrid? I feel the segments for the smaller cars were all bundled up together and it hides the true winners in their categories. Not distinguishing the luxury vehicles from the non-luxury in each category is also problematic as most people cannot afford a luxury car in any of the segments.
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Alex, How about giving us a category for the best Hatch? The new Toyota Corolla Hatchback has been a great entry, but hatches werent even mentioned. Also, why put the Ioniq Hybrid as best car when its a hybrid? I feel the segments for the smaller cars were all bundled up together and it hides the true winners in their categories. Not distinguishing the luxury vehicles from the non-luxury in each category is also problematic as most people cannot afford a luxury car in any of the segments.
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David R
Before you buy a Kia, look at how many dealers are in your area and how backed up the service dept is. 3 kia dealerships in my area closed and the 2 remaining dealers are typically backed up 3 weeks. Even for an oil change. Plus they dont have shuttle service like my local Chevy, Toyota Honda dealer. Service is a time consuming pain. Have to get a ride to drive me 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back, then drive me there again to pick it up. Unless I want to spend 60 per trip on a Uber or cab.
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Before you buy a Kia, look at how many dealers are in your area and how backed up the service dept is. 3 kia dealerships in my area closed and the 2 remaining dealers are typically backed up 3 weeks. Even for an oil change. Plus they dont have shuttle service like my local Chevy, Toyota Honda dealer. Service is a time consuming pain. Have to get a ride to drive me 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back, then drive me there again to pick it up. Unless I want to spend 60 per trip on a Uber or cab.
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nowell ingram
Hi Alex. I am a ASE Certified Master mechanic and Driven electric vehicles of some type or another that I have built or modified for the last 15 years. I would love to see you get a Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for long term testing, A new Kia soul EV, and the new Ford Ranger with the 4 cyl. I would love to get my hands on a fuel cell to built a vehicle however they are quite pricy and not as available to be public as one would think. at least the size for a car. Love you work Keep it up
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Hi Alex. I am a ASE Certified Master mechanic and Driven electric vehicles of some type or another that I have built or modified for the last 15 years. I would love to see you get a Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for long term testing, A new Kia soul EV, and the new Ford Ranger with the 4 cyl. I would love to get my hands on a fuel cell to built a vehicle however they are quite pricy and not as available to be public as one would think. at least the size for a car. Love you work Keep it up
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Michael Manjin
I totally disagree with your recommendation of the Honda Clarity. Consumer Reports reported it as one of the most troublesome cars of 2018 as compuled from owners reliability surveys. A car is NEVER a good value proposition if it continually has reliability issues. This is something you need to consider when recommending a car. The Clarity has a lot of technology and sophistication baked into it and until Honda gets it right skip the Clarity.
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I totally disagree with your recommendation of the Honda Clarity. Consumer Reports reported it as one of the most troublesome cars of 2018 as compuled from owners reliability surveys. A car is NEVER a good value proposition if it continually has reliability issues. This is something you need to consider when recommending a car. The Clarity has a lot of technology and sophistication baked into it and until Honda gets it right skip the Clarity.
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Lord Commander Manny
Alex great video. I hope you can do special video on different safety features the new cars have and which works best. It is confusing b/c car company used different words for same features other companies. Also with one is available on which model. GM wont let you great some safety features unless you get top model. That is why GM isnt selling better than Asian companies. Happy Holidays and Festivus to all
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Alex great video. I hope you can do special video on different safety features the new cars have and which works best. It is confusing b/c car company used different words for same features other companies. Also with one is available on which model. GM wont let you great some safety features unless you get top model. That is why GM isnt selling better than Asian companies. Happy Holidays and Festivus to all
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Christopher Calder
My list would include the Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata (my pick for best overall vehicle, Genesis G70, Honda Insight. For luxury sedans with looks, anything by Mercedes. For luxury sedans with practicality, anything by Audi. For SUVs the Subaru Forester. Next years Mazda 3 looks very good except for the twist beam suspension.
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My list would include the Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata (my pick for best overall vehicle, Genesis G70, Honda Insight. For luxury sedans with looks, anything by Mercedes. For luxury sedans with practicality, anything by Audi. For SUVs the Subaru Forester. Next years Mazda 3 looks very good except for the twist beam suspension.
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