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Choosing the Right Vehicle
Each feature on your new vehicle can potentially affect your overall satisfaction. Transmission. Engine. Body style. Size. Exterior and interior colors. Even the number of cupholders.
Before you visit a dealership, list the specific features you want in your new car. Write the most valued feature first, then the least important, and then fill in the gaps. Clarifying your wants and needs before you begin shopping will help make the selection process easier.
There's a bewildering number of choices of body styles and sizes. To decide what's right for you, first consider how you'll use the car. How much time will you spend commuting to work, transporting family members, or driving just for fun? Select a body style and size that fit your most frequent use. Some other questions to consider: How many people will ride in the car regularly? Will you be carrying a lot of cargo? What kind of weather and road conditions are normal? Is there an item you routinely carry that must fit in the car?
Compact two-door coupes are ideal for singles and small families. A convertible offers the unique pleasure of open-air driving, but it requires more upkeep, invites theft, and can be noisy.
Larger vehicles can be expensive to operate, and require more space to maneuver, but family size may dictate four doors. Sedans can carry five or six people and provide easy access to the rear seat. A four-door car may cost less to insure, but its styling may not appeal to you.
Sport-utility vehicles provide good visability, which is a function of their height. That height also causes them to handle differently from the typical passenger car, be more prone to rollover, and be hard to enter and exit.
Minivans do a combine a car-like ride with roominess and versatility. They typically offer seating for up to seven people and have removable or folding seats for carrying cargo. Truck-based and full-size vans are quite roomy and can tow heavy trailers when outfitted properly. Because these vehicles are built on a truck chassis, their ride and handling may not be as comfortable as you're used to. And they're often equipped with more powerful engines, which translates to higher fuel costs. Like SUVs, vans are more prone to rollover than the typical passenger car.
Before purchasing a car, everyone who will ride in the car — including children and part-time drivers - should have a say in the decision. "Try on" a car to make sure it fits your family. If family members often ride in back, make sure passengers can enter and exit the vehicle with ease and that the seats are comfortable.
Here's a tip: have everyone sit in the car where they'd typically ride. Adjust the front seats and make sure everyone has plenty of leg room. Just sit for 10 minutes to make sure everyone is comfortable.
View is important for everyone, but especially so for young passengers. The more they can see from the back seat, the more they will enjoy the trip.
If you have a child's safety seat, take the child and the seat shopping with you to ensure everything fits in the car. There are more than 350 combinations of child safety seats and latching systems. Make sure yours fits the car before you drive off the lot!
Every potential driver should be able to easily access all controls and displays. Pay particular attention to light switches, turn signals, transmission levers, and foot pedals.
All drivers must be able to turn the steering wheel fully, without difficulty, and depress the brake pedal fully. Be sure your car fits all of its drivers.
If you take long trips on a regular basis, sit in the car for some time to make sure it's comfortable. Remember: Driver fatigue and lack of alertness are factors known to contribute to accidents.
Switches that are located in "odd" locations, displays that can't be seen, controls that work the opposite of what you're used to - any of these can cause problems and can sometimes cause accidents. As a rule, good controls are coded by location, function, symbol or label.
You should be able to touch controls with good accuracy without having to take your eyes from the road. Good displays communicate information in a straightforward manner and must be seen equally well in all lighting conditions. Proper design locates the critical displays in the driver's central field of view, with the less essential displays to the side.
Make sure that the important controls function in a way that is "intuitive" to you. Do you like a pull-on or turn-on headlight switch? Try the cruise control and power mirrors. The more comfortable you are with the vehicle's controls and displays, the more comfortable you'll be driving the car. The more comfortable you are driving the car, the better you'll drive.
Check your ability to see in all directions while seated in the driver's seat. All cars have blind spots, but some make it more difficult to see when changing lanes, others, when backing up. A sloped hood makes it hard to judge distances when parking or maneuvering in tight quarters. There is no good "rule of thumb" for an acceptable field of view. Mirrors are particularly important for a good view, but mirrors don't eliminate all blind spots.
Here's a tip: have someone walk around the car, keeping a constant distance of about 20 feet, while you try to keep them in sight. Adjust all mirrors before you try this test. This test will help you locate the blind spots.
As a rule, side-view mirrors are properly adjusted when you can just see the side of the car when leaning your head toward the mirror. If you back up a lot, there are several manufacturers that offer optional electronic devices to detect objects you might not be able to see. They could be a good option for you.
How much experience you and the other drivers have is also an important factor to consider, especially if a novice will be a driver. Vans, SUVs, pickup trucks and high-performance cars require more skills and better judgment. Even experienced drivers may find it challenging to move from a four-door sedan to a minivan or full-size van. There's considerable evidence that a driver operating an unfamiliar vehicle is more likely to be involved in an accident.
After age 60, our eyes require about three times more light to see than they did in our 20s. We're also much more sensitive to glare. For these reasons, older drivers should make sure a car's headlights are adequate, and there are no design characteristics, such as chrome, reflecting light into the driver's eyes at night.
