I need to do a 5 hour drive every week or so. Currently have a 2.4 Toyota Blade. It's a great car but noisy on NZs roads, tiring after a long drive and fuel economy could be better.
What options are there for a replacement that's quiet, comfortable, good ride & handling, decent fuel economy, good acceleration for overtakes, reliable?
New or second hand. SUV or large-ish saloon/estate. Budget is flexible but ideally < $30k.
saxman99,
May 11, 5:45am
BMW 5 series, V8 for power, diesel for economy.
stevo2,
May 11, 5:57am
Skoda Superb
kingfisher21,
May 11, 6:01am
FG2 G6E Falcon, surprisingly economical and cheap to buy.
kazbanz,
May 11, 6:05am
Silly suggestion. MAYBEE. Change tyres.
likit,
May 11, 6:09am
Not the tyres, no sound insulation in jap imports, every import we have had has been the same.
magenta,
May 11, 6:13am
Kia Sportage diesel 2ltr AWD. Comfortable and quiet. Its not the most economical diesel, but has good acceleration. A few too many electric gizmos, but you can ignore them,
tamarillo,
May 11, 6:18am
Need something bigger and a bit luxury so it’s really well insulated and absorbent suspension. Imo suv is madness, less efficient and worse handling for no reason. I’ve toured South Island roads for years and currently use my 5 series bmw. So relaxing. But older Aussie commodores, falcons are also good. Skoda superb good. For smaller stuff NZ new Honda Accord euro was good. I tested imports and they did let in more road roar. Despite not enjoying the drive nz new Camry does a good job except when you want to overtake .
cabrio1,
May 11, 6:19am
Bmw 5 series. Straight 6. Mid 2000 s Awesome car
loud_37,
May 11, 6:23am
Turn the music up
franc123,
May 11, 6:44am
Diesel Mondeo?
bigfatmat1,
May 11, 7:22am
Audi rs6, c63 Mercedes
msigg,
May 11, 5:12pm
I would get a good camry, hard to beat, good economy, very reliable, every rental I use is a camry and they just eat up the miles, they drive very well.
gblack,
May 11, 5:40pm
I was going to suggest the Hybrid Camry. 2.5litre but easy way of eating up kilometres while using significantly less fuel than your Blade.
For something a bit more quieter then check out the Lexus version which does the same sort of economy; ES 300h
nice_lady,
May 11, 5:56pm
$250 or so for a good set of earphones/buds with active noise cancelling. The difference in road noise is substantial. And they can be used in conjunction with your smartphone to automatically read text messages and answer calls without you touching a button. Very handy. And pretty cheap too.
kazbanz,
May 11, 6:36pm
You mean every car from japan right?
kazbanz,
May 11, 6:39pm
My thinking is to try one of the Lexus Hybrids. That's provided you mean economy in town is an issue not so much long trips. Im somewhat biased but I still feel that the Toyota Zio is really comfortable to drive and has a tonne of space.
trogedon,
May 11, 7:37pm
There is no good reason to have a vehicle with a larger engine than what you have. The speed limit is 100kph and your Blade can easily cope with the steepest of hills and overtaking.
kazbanz,
May 11, 8:45pm
I don't think a bigger engine is the OP's focus. Quieter and more comfortable is the focus.
aukaguy,
May 11, 10:02pm
Thanks for all the replies. Yes a quieter more comfortable car is what I'm looking for, not one with a bigger engine.
I have thought about changing tyres on my Blade but there's no guarantee this will solve the problem and long distances in a small car (short wheelbase) is not ideal whatever tyres you have.
I also thought about using my noise cancelling headphones but not sure what the family will think when I can't hear them plus I like to hear the engine is running ok and any other odd noises.
A BMW 5 series is an interesting option. I hadn't considered that before primarily because of concerns over long term reliability and high maintenance costs. Likewise Skoda.
I do like the idea of a Lexus. I did look at an ES300h but they weren't sold in Japan until 2018 so the ones getting imported into NZ are from other Asian countries. The one I looked at in Auckland was a Singapore car. This put me off given it will have done lots of short journeys in traffic, potentially poor maintenance and possible electrical issues due to Singapore's high humidity.
A GS450h looks like a good choice and after that maybe a Camry or a Zio. What's the difference between a NZ new Camry and an imported Camry? Will a NZ new car have more sound deadening and/or different suspension setup?
3tomany,
May 11, 10:38pm
I have not driven a new Camry but every one i have has noticeably poor road noise. Might be out of the frying pan and into the fire.
3tomany,
May 11, 10:42pm
With that in mind the best thing to do is test drive in the dry on coarse seal roads At 100k. Never in the wet as water sound deadens road noise and remember to hit every bump and man hole you can find to see what suspension noises appear.
vtecintegra,
May 11, 10:53pm
They're certainly better than an Escape - that's about the noisiest vehicle in its class
vtecintegra,
May 11, 11:21pm
Those are noisy too
3tomany,
May 11, 11:27pm
I have not had a problem with them. maybe the base model is noisy as ours are all trend. My daughter had a diesel Escape and that was the quietest of them all.
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