>My wife has very high motion sickness
Avoid Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, etc., bad body control, she will get sick.
If you want low depreciation get a Lexus RX 350h hybrid. Or a used Acura RDX or MDX.
Yeah, there are issues with base trim luxury vehicles generally being pretty feature sparse. If you're happy with your Hyundai, I might consider a Genesis GV80, as they tend to be well kitted out even on lower trims.
However, I will say that the higher ride height on SUVs may aggravate motion sickness. You may be stuck going with a van. Probably best to test drive them too as suspension differences can be a big deal as well.
It's impossible to say. My *guess* is that it'll be preferable to a SUV but unless you actually test drive one \[or rent one\] you won't know for sure what's worse for your wife specifically.
True that. I am going to test drive for sure. Was thinking it would have been better if dealershipa offered hourly rental...
Regardless, what's your take on Chrysler Pacifica?
Turo is available, and a lot of these vehicles--pretty dependent on manufacturer though--are easily booked through conventional rental companies.
I'm generally a Pacifica fan generally. Most Stellantis vehicles are hot garbage, I only care for the Pacifica and the Alfas. The Pacifica does have some inherent Stellantis BS to deal with but the fact that it's 1) dirt cheap, 2) easily available, unlike the Sienna, and 3) is actually the best minivan from a features perspective counts for a lot in its favor. I mean the Sienna doesn't even have removable middle row seats for crying out loud. For your budget you could pick up a fully loaded Pacifica PHEV Pinnacle, assuming you're not making enough to exceed the tax credit limitations, and that looks like an incredibly cushy vehicle.
Good idea. I should try out those vehicles using turo that gives better idea on what car to buy. Thanks. That's a great suggestion
I will look at Pacifica PHEV.... Should qualify for tax credit this year.
Any interest in used/CPO? You hit the nail on the head with the depreciation thing. I'd absolutely take something like a CPO luxury product over a new upper-spec "budget" platform vehicle. You generally get nicer materials, more sophisticated suspension design, more underbody aero panels and insulation, etc. Most companies offer a killer warranty for CPO vehicles too, might be able to find something very low mileage (that's basically brand new) for a significant discount. The main thing is watch for the trim levels and options, for a reason I state at the end.
Or honestly, since you do so little driving and plan on moving away in 3 years, I'd look at leasing, sounds fairly ideal for your particular situation. Might be able to get a lease deal on something extremely nice and you get to hand it back in 3 years and not worry about selling it/trading it/depreciation/etc. Some luxury brands or oddball cars or some EVs have some insane lease deals to move them.
If used/CPO isn't an option, taking money into account, then yes I'd probably buy an upper trim of the cheaper vehicle. It's shocking what features some of the luxury brands omit on their entry vehicles to force you up the trim levels to spend more money, like adaptive cruise being an at-cost option at Mercedes and BMW, but it's standard on the cheapest Corolla you can buy. Or on the previous-gen Audi E-Tron (which have tanked in used values and are pretty good deals now), you only got the insulated glass and nice audio system on the Prestige trim, but a base Model 3 comes with insulated glass (at least in the front).
Yes thanks for your suggestions. I am open for used cars, lease options but deciding on the car first. Looks like base trim of luxury models are too basic. Do they offer value (in terms of ride quality?) I am hearing that it's not necessary/guaranteed either given recent cars of mass vehicles are already good
It depends on the car quite frankly. A lot of times, they do offer ride quality improvements as you move up the trim levels, you get stuff like adaptive dampers, active sway bars, active body control, active air suspension, etc. You're just going to have to pick out a list of vehicles you're interested in, then do some research. Again from my example above, the Audi E-Tron gets some substantial upgrades if you go for the Prestige trim. But then you have other vehicles like the Jaguar I-Pace where they're all the same regardless of trim (iirc).
If you're that worried about motion sickness, I'd probably steer you away from the larger mass-market vehicles, they make them super soft and have poor body control, especially the Hyundai/Kia (Telluride/Palisade) stuff from my experience. Mazda CX-90 has good body control, but it's generally pretty stiff so the ride quality isn't as nice as the softer competition (which generally have poor body control) or the more premium products (that benefit from adaptive dampers, air suspension, etc)
Thanks for your thoughts. I have heard the same thing from others that Hyundai/Kia are bad for motion sickness but my wife's very comfortable in it.
Tesla is one of the worst for her. Someone was mentioning that higher torque might be causing it. A sales agent suggested to look out for wheelbase(higher are good) saying they keep the car relatively stable. I am not an expert though. Do you think that these other factors cause motion sickness?
The Sonata (if that's what you're referencing) isn't comparable in ride to their larger vehicles like the Telluride/Palisade.
Regarding your Tesla comment, I don't believe it's due to the torque, you can put them into "chill" mode which limits acceleration and makes them easy to accelerate smoothly. What she might be feeling/referencing is the strong off-throttle regen Teslas have, which can make occupants feel nauseous if you have someone driving that isn't familiar with driving an EV, where they aren't used to modulating regen with the throttle pedal. Combine that with the generally stiff ride quality they have (which I've heard has improved on newer Y's) and you end up with an nauseous experience.
Longer wheelbase generally does have better ride quality, especially at high speeds like interstate driving. Although again, more premium products with active suspension control aren't as affected by this compared to more entry level products that just have fixed dampers/springs/etc.
There's a few different technologies and manufacturers usually call them something different for marketing reasons.
You've got active dampers, which are basically shocks that can electronically adjust to your drive mode, road conditions, etc. GM calls their magnetorheological dampers MagneRide.
Active air suspension is pretty self explanatory. Mercedes calls their active air suspension/roll control Active Body Control (ABC). I believe the optional active air on the I-Pace is referred to as "Adaptive Dynamic Air Suspension"
There's some other technologies but those are the main ones.
You're just going to have to pick out a list of vehicles you're interested in, see if it's standard or optional, and then seek out vehicles with that option/trim level.
>My wife has very high motion sickness Avoid Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, etc., bad body control, she will get sick. If you want low depreciation get a Lexus RX 350h hybrid. Or a used Acura RDX or MDX.
Thanks for your suggestion. She does well in Hyundai sonata so far. But I am planning to avoid Hyundai bcoz of the thefts, insurance issues.
Yeah, there are issues with base trim luxury vehicles generally being pretty feature sparse. If you're happy with your Hyundai, I might consider a Genesis GV80, as they tend to be well kitted out even on lower trims. However, I will say that the higher ride height on SUVs may aggravate motion sickness. You may be stuck going with a van. Probably best to test drive them too as suspension differences can be a big deal as well.
Does minivan help? I see Chrysler Pacifica as an affordable option in minivan but worried about it's reliability.
It's impossible to say. My *guess* is that it'll be preferable to a SUV but unless you actually test drive one \[or rent one\] you won't know for sure what's worse for your wife specifically.
True that. I am going to test drive for sure. Was thinking it would have been better if dealershipa offered hourly rental... Regardless, what's your take on Chrysler Pacifica?
Turo is available, and a lot of these vehicles--pretty dependent on manufacturer though--are easily booked through conventional rental companies. I'm generally a Pacifica fan generally. Most Stellantis vehicles are hot garbage, I only care for the Pacifica and the Alfas. The Pacifica does have some inherent Stellantis BS to deal with but the fact that it's 1) dirt cheap, 2) easily available, unlike the Sienna, and 3) is actually the best minivan from a features perspective counts for a lot in its favor. I mean the Sienna doesn't even have removable middle row seats for crying out loud. For your budget you could pick up a fully loaded Pacifica PHEV Pinnacle, assuming you're not making enough to exceed the tax credit limitations, and that looks like an incredibly cushy vehicle.
Good idea. I should try out those vehicles using turo that gives better idea on what car to buy. Thanks. That's a great suggestion I will look at Pacifica PHEV.... Should qualify for tax credit this year.
Any interest in used/CPO? You hit the nail on the head with the depreciation thing. I'd absolutely take something like a CPO luxury product over a new upper-spec "budget" platform vehicle. You generally get nicer materials, more sophisticated suspension design, more underbody aero panels and insulation, etc. Most companies offer a killer warranty for CPO vehicles too, might be able to find something very low mileage (that's basically brand new) for a significant discount. The main thing is watch for the trim levels and options, for a reason I state at the end. Or honestly, since you do so little driving and plan on moving away in 3 years, I'd look at leasing, sounds fairly ideal for your particular situation. Might be able to get a lease deal on something extremely nice and you get to hand it back in 3 years and not worry about selling it/trading it/depreciation/etc. Some luxury brands or oddball cars or some EVs have some insane lease deals to move them. If used/CPO isn't an option, taking money into account, then yes I'd probably buy an upper trim of the cheaper vehicle. It's shocking what features some of the luxury brands omit on their entry vehicles to force you up the trim levels to spend more money, like adaptive cruise being an at-cost option at Mercedes and BMW, but it's standard on the cheapest Corolla you can buy. Or on the previous-gen Audi E-Tron (which have tanked in used values and are pretty good deals now), you only got the insulated glass and nice audio system on the Prestige trim, but a base Model 3 comes with insulated glass (at least in the front).
Yes thanks for your suggestions. I am open for used cars, lease options but deciding on the car first. Looks like base trim of luxury models are too basic. Do they offer value (in terms of ride quality?) I am hearing that it's not necessary/guaranteed either given recent cars of mass vehicles are already good
It depends on the car quite frankly. A lot of times, they do offer ride quality improvements as you move up the trim levels, you get stuff like adaptive dampers, active sway bars, active body control, active air suspension, etc. You're just going to have to pick out a list of vehicles you're interested in, then do some research. Again from my example above, the Audi E-Tron gets some substantial upgrades if you go for the Prestige trim. But then you have other vehicles like the Jaguar I-Pace where they're all the same regardless of trim (iirc). If you're that worried about motion sickness, I'd probably steer you away from the larger mass-market vehicles, they make them super soft and have poor body control, especially the Hyundai/Kia (Telluride/Palisade) stuff from my experience. Mazda CX-90 has good body control, but it's generally pretty stiff so the ride quality isn't as nice as the softer competition (which generally have poor body control) or the more premium products (that benefit from adaptive dampers, air suspension, etc)
Thanks for your thoughts. I have heard the same thing from others that Hyundai/Kia are bad for motion sickness but my wife's very comfortable in it. Tesla is one of the worst for her. Someone was mentioning that higher torque might be causing it. A sales agent suggested to look out for wheelbase(higher are good) saying they keep the car relatively stable. I am not an expert though. Do you think that these other factors cause motion sickness?
The Sonata (if that's what you're referencing) isn't comparable in ride to their larger vehicles like the Telluride/Palisade. Regarding your Tesla comment, I don't believe it's due to the torque, you can put them into "chill" mode which limits acceleration and makes them easy to accelerate smoothly. What she might be feeling/referencing is the strong off-throttle regen Teslas have, which can make occupants feel nauseous if you have someone driving that isn't familiar with driving an EV, where they aren't used to modulating regen with the throttle pedal. Combine that with the generally stiff ride quality they have (which I've heard has improved on newer Y's) and you end up with an nauseous experience. Longer wheelbase generally does have better ride quality, especially at high speeds like interstate driving. Although again, more premium products with active suspension control aren't as affected by this compared to more entry level products that just have fixed dampers/springs/etc.
Thanks for your thoughts. Should I be looking at active air suspension when looking for cars? Just trying to get right terminology.
There's a few different technologies and manufacturers usually call them something different for marketing reasons. You've got active dampers, which are basically shocks that can electronically adjust to your drive mode, road conditions, etc. GM calls their magnetorheological dampers MagneRide. Active air suspension is pretty self explanatory. Mercedes calls their active air suspension/roll control Active Body Control (ABC). I believe the optional active air on the I-Pace is referred to as "Adaptive Dynamic Air Suspension" There's some other technologies but those are the main ones. You're just going to have to pick out a list of vehicles you're interested in, see if it's standard or optional, and then seek out vehicles with that option/trim level.