2500 mile round trip, which car to use?

[CrusherCurtis]

You answered your own question nothing fun about a sonata or fusion.

[Stanley Rockafella]

if you're crossing the mountains on highway 1, you'll want the power.

it really sucks to be going up hill, floored in 4th gear, and not be able to accelerate or pass anyone. And believe me with all the trucks and motorhomes struggling uphill at 25mph, you'll want to pass.. a lot.

you are probably going to get worse mileage in a POS like the Hyundai given it's barely going to be able to move out of it's own way. you will have to have it floored most of the time over the mountains just to go the speed limit.

8-)this man knows what it's all about!

[Stanley Rockafella]

Finalyl picked up my rental

Paid additional for the rental as it's from the prem. lineup, but I wanted something nice, esp. to show off with ;)

Got a 2012 300C with the 5.7 Hemi. I think it should be sufficient for driving in the mountains, no? ;)

Actually, when I got home I checked out online what kind of fuel economy they get and it suggested Mid grade and then I started freakin out. So I called a guy at the dealer and he said that you can easily run regular in them (disaster averted!)

Boy this thing lights up the rears easily! the only phrase tha tcomes to mind is "if you got 'em, light 'em up!"

thanks again for all the help guys

[TurboJake]

Actually, when I got home I checked out online what kind of fuel economy they get and it suggested Mid grade and then I started freakin out.

Not to sidetrack, but why is this freak out worthy?

Just curious.

[dnick]

murica

[Stanley Rockafella]

Not to sidetrack, but why is this freak out worthy?

Just curious.

Not really freak out, but it can get pricey

...ijs

[Wiglaf]

let us know how that goes, i've heard awful things about the 300C's interior

[Stanley Rockafella]

will do!

Actually, I had a while this evening to acquaint myself with the Garmin GPS system that's built in and it works very effortlessy. Also, the sat radio controls seems pretty straightforward. Just not much of a fan of the auto climate control stuff, seems too gimmiky on every car I've ever encountered it on.

[nando]

Not to sidetrack, but why is this freak out worthy?

Just curious.

premium in canada is like $6-7 a gallon.

[Wiglaf]

oh damn, my mpg calculation probably amounts to much more money.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Just got back from the trip. Oh boy that car was awesome!

It was like a classy, grown-up version of the batmobile. It was smooth, handled great and always turned heads wherever it went. I got a stone chip in the windshield, but that's expected on a long trip like that (5500kms in 8 days).

Overall, the car performed flawlessly in the mountains. When the little civics and elantras were struggling up the LONG winding mountain passes. The leather seating and the power adjustments REALLY made the trip. The heated AND cooled cup holders still have me scratching my head with how they are able to cool. My guess is the car must have some way of re-routing the a/c refigerant to make them cold. A nice little touch on a car with so many features.

Some other cool features include the intelligent hi-beam system, the power rear sunshade that retracts when you put the car into reverse etc.

The car was amost too easy to speed with, but I was able to keep things under control esp. on the prairies.

Fuel economy wasnt' too bad, esp when you consider how much fun the car was. I honestly have NO regrets choosing this car for the premium over the Sonata and Malibu. During the trip my GF and I were laughing at the thought of having one of them for the trip when we considered how much fun the 300C was.

Would I rent again? HELL YES!!!!! Would I buy one? yeah. Esp. i fI had some long dist. driving to do. Actually, since driving it and then my e30 back to back, it just made me cringe at how inefficient my old m20 machine is when you consider how much fuel it consumes.

Downsides: the navi system can be VERY distracting, esp. in busy areas with lots of pedestrians. But considering this is becoming a standard feature on most cars these days since it's able to encompass so many features of a car, into one simple screen.

The other downside is the handling over 90mph. Sure it's able to get there in a jiffy, but once it's there, the handling tends to get a little too light. I suppose the SRT version would easily address this issue

Also, when depressing the brake pedal, it can be a little loud and cheap sounding. I dunno how to explain it but in an otherwise dead quiet, refined interior, when pressing on the brakes, the sound it makes is a little un-nerving.