First month review of my Outie!
#1
04-01-2008 | 11:50 PM
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 22
First month review of my Outie!
Okay, I have a full month since I bought my LS. I have a little more than 1,000 kms on it, so maybe it's haven't been used extensibly, but at least I have used it on different situations.
Right now it hasn't rained, so I can't judge how it will behave on wet. It doesn't snow here in Mexico City, so honestly I really don't care about how it behaves in snow.
My overal impression is that I'm completely pleased by the purchase, it's a very good car (CUV, SUV, whatever).
Esthetically, it's one of the ones in the top of my list. My list includes the Range Rover LR3, Nissan Xterra, VW Toureg, Ford Explorer. I like the newer grill, and the overall design.
The size is pretty good, and it doesn't take that much space. It's the largest car I've had. Previously I had a Renault Megane II sedan, and before that a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport, which is the 2 door version of the Explorer. But it really is pretty close to the Explorer, and it didn't take me too much time getting used to the size difference.
The motor is great! I like how it delivers the power, it feels it can give you some more power at different speeds, and that makes it wonderfull for passing cars in highway and to connect to busy freeways. I think I'm getting like 8 Kms/lt (sorry but I don't know how many Mpg that is), maybe a tad less overall. My explorer did like a whole 5 km/lt, so I'm glad this isn't as fuel consuming as my previous SUV.
The handling is pretty good, considering that it's a SUV. It feels pretty stable, has good brakes, and I like how the suspension works. It eats a bit of the small bumps, but still feels firm to drive on curves. When I've taken it through small sections of fireroads, it's more than plush enough. I really don't think of doing off roading on the Outie (that's what my bikes are for [:'(]), but for the dirt roads to get to the trailhead if feels pretty good. As it hasn't rained, I don't know how it will behave on mud.
I like how fast I can fold/unfold the rear seats, pretty good feature. What I miss is the sheer space I had on the Explorer. I could fit my entire bike without having to remove the wheels without any problems, where I have to remove the front wheel to fit my bike inside. It's not a big issue, I was used to doing that before on my Megane, but I sort of wished I could do the same on the Outie. The seats are very confortable. What I liked about the Explorer was that the seat material (I don't know if it's called fabric, sorry, I'm from Mexico) was more resistant to dirt, where the outie fabric looks more frail.
On highways, it feels solid and it just completely outdrives my previous Explorer, both in motor and handling.
My dislikes (but they are minor):
I would like to have the door locks to lock automatically when starting the engine.
Also, I would like to remove the back seats without doing a long process. That would allow me to fit the complete bike without removing wheelsets.
What I don't like, are the tires. I have the Yokohama Geolandar GO33. To be honest, I need more time on the car to judge them more precisely, but I feel that they are the weak spot on the car. Well, they're a lot better than the ones that came with the Explorer (Firestone something or other, yep, the ones that exploded and gave the conflict between Ford and Firestone), but they're not as good as the ones I replaced on the Explorer (Michelin LTS M/S, pretty good tires). Again, I will ride this tires, probably they will work fine on rain, but I have a feeling that maybe there will be other better tires. But, I really don't want to spend more money for now. Maybe weak spot doesn't mean as like they suck or are unsafe, just that they are probably what I like the least for now.
What I would like?
Well, several things:
I would like to have an aux input for the audio to plug an Ipod. I really would like to do it, since using a FM emiter isn't as good as using a cable.
I would like to have automatic outside lights like the Megane had. Sometimes I forget to turn on the lights at nigh [sm=nono.gif], specially because my car has the DLR, so I see some lights on the front, but the rear might be dark as.. well, pretty dark.
Also, a rear hitch adapter. Okay, I can install an aftermarket one, but I would have liked to keep that money and spend it somewhere else, and also I think it would have looked more integrated into the rear end, and also maybe be higher.
Would I recommed an Outie?
Hell yes!
This are the mayor features:
1. Great handling:
a. Very stable.
b. Good at cornering (considering it's not a Porshe or Ferrari :P)
c. Great suspension.
2.Moderately priced (well,honestly very well priced, was around 25K USD equivalent for the 2wd LS without rooftop or DVD), a great value. For this price, I would have got the base version of the CR-V or RAV-4, but those would have been the 4 cil versions, or the 4 cil version costs around 21K.
3. Very good looks!
4. Nice size.
5. Reasonable mileage for the power it gives and the weight of the Outie.
Would I had gone toward the cheaper and economical ES?
Yes. Actually, that version (ES) was my first choice. That was the version I was comparing when I was shopping cars. I looked at the Jeep Patriot (which was the closest contender), Honda CR-Vand the Ford Escape, both on 4 cil versions. I didn't test ride the Escape, but I did test ride the Outie, CR-Vand Patriot on 4 cil, and honestly, all threewere pretty close at power and overal handling. The Patriot I was looking at was pretty close on price, probably just withing 400 bucks of each other. But the CR-V was like 2K, but it had the fugly steel wheels (I don't care that they're steel, wich could make them stronger, but they looked cheap!) and had that weird grille that looks like a nose with the flu. Probably a black CR-V would hide that thing, but thanks but no thanks. I decided on the LS for three things, well four:
1. The engine, it really feels awesome!
2. While I think that the CVT transmision is a very good transmision and probably more advanced than a standard automatic, it's new technology (well, I think it's been around for a long time, but not in Mexico and not as widespread as the standard auto tranny), and I'mkinda skeptical if something happens to it (knock on wood that it doesn't) that some mechanicals might not know much about it.
3. The LS had the ASC feature, while the ES didn't.
4. I could stretch the budget for the LS (just barely), and it was a nice Bling factor... lol!
Would I go for the XLS, if I had the money?
Well, that's a hard question, because it depends if I could just reach the budget, or could buy 3 units but just decided on one, but let's say that I could stretch my budget a bit. The answer is, probably not. It's like 4K more, and the features that I would have liked are:
Bluetooth.
Radiocontrolon the wheel.
6 discs (but, with the IPod it's kinda like a moot question)
well, the stereo is a lot better.
Probably the leather seats, but I'm not that fond of leather
So, 4K would be a lot for this features.
Sorry for the long winded post, but I hope someone would find it helpfull.
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Right now it hasn't rained, so I can't judge how it will behave on wet. It doesn't snow here in Mexico City, so honestly I really don't care about how it behaves in snow.
My overal impression is that I'm completely pleased by the purchase, it's a very good car (CUV, SUV, whatever).
Esthetically, it's one of the ones in the top of my list. My list includes the Range Rover LR3, Nissan Xterra, VW Toureg, Ford Explorer. I like the newer grill, and the overall design.
The size is pretty good, and it doesn't take that much space. It's the largest car I've had. Previously I had a Renault Megane II sedan, and before that a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport, which is the 2 door version of the Explorer. But it really is pretty close to the Explorer, and it didn't take me too much time getting used to the size difference.
The motor is great! I like how it delivers the power, it feels it can give you some more power at different speeds, and that makes it wonderfull for passing cars in highway and to connect to busy freeways. I think I'm getting like 8 Kms/lt (sorry but I don't know how many Mpg that is), maybe a tad less overall. My explorer did like a whole 5 km/lt, so I'm glad this isn't as fuel consuming as my previous SUV.
The handling is pretty good, considering that it's a SUV. It feels pretty stable, has good brakes, and I like how the suspension works. It eats a bit of the small bumps, but still feels firm to drive on curves. When I've taken it through small sections of fireroads, it's more than plush enough. I really don't think of doing off roading on the Outie (that's what my bikes are for [:'(]), but for the dirt roads to get to the trailhead if feels pretty good. As it hasn't rained, I don't know how it will behave on mud.
I like how fast I can fold/unfold the rear seats, pretty good feature. What I miss is the sheer space I had on the Explorer. I could fit my entire bike without having to remove the wheels without any problems, where I have to remove the front wheel to fit my bike inside. It's not a big issue, I was used to doing that before on my Megane, but I sort of wished I could do the same on the Outie. The seats are very confortable. What I liked about the Explorer was that the seat material (I don't know if it's called fabric, sorry, I'm from Mexico) was more resistant to dirt, where the outie fabric looks more frail.
On highways, it feels solid and it just completely outdrives my previous Explorer, both in motor and handling.
My dislikes (but they are minor):
I would like to have the door locks to lock automatically when starting the engine.
Also, I would like to remove the back seats without doing a long process. That would allow me to fit the complete bike without removing wheelsets.
What I don't like, are the tires. I have the Yokohama Geolandar GO33. To be honest, I need more time on the car to judge them more precisely, but I feel that they are the weak spot on the car. Well, they're a lot better than the ones that came with the Explorer (Firestone something or other, yep, the ones that exploded and gave the conflict between Ford and Firestone), but they're not as good as the ones I replaced on the Explorer (Michelin LTS M/S, pretty good tires). Again, I will ride this tires, probably they will work fine on rain, but I have a feeling that maybe there will be other better tires. But, I really don't want to spend more money for now. Maybe weak spot doesn't mean as like they suck or are unsafe, just that they are probably what I like the least for now.
What I would like?
Well, several things:
I would like to have an aux input for the audio to plug an Ipod. I really would like to do it, since using a FM emiter isn't as good as using a cable.
I would like to have automatic outside lights like the Megane had. Sometimes I forget to turn on the lights at nigh [sm=nono.gif], specially because my car has the DLR, so I see some lights on the front, but the rear might be dark as.. well, pretty dark.
Also, a rear hitch adapter. Okay, I can install an aftermarket one, but I would have liked to keep that money and spend it somewhere else, and also I think it would have looked more integrated into the rear end, and also maybe be higher.
Would I recommed an Outie?
Hell yes!
This are the mayor features:
1. Great handling:
a. Very stable.
b. Good at cornering (considering it's not a Porshe or Ferrari :P)
c. Great suspension.
2.Moderately priced (well,honestly very well priced, was around 25K USD equivalent for the 2wd LS without rooftop or DVD), a great value. For this price, I would have got the base version of the CR-V or RAV-4, but those would have been the 4 cil versions, or the 4 cil version costs around 21K.
3. Very good looks!
4. Nice size.
5. Reasonable mileage for the power it gives and the weight of the Outie.
Would I had gone toward the cheaper and economical ES?
Yes. Actually, that version (ES) was my first choice. That was the version I was comparing when I was shopping cars. I looked at the Jeep Patriot (which was the closest contender), Honda CR-Vand the Ford Escape, both on 4 cil versions. I didn't test ride the Escape, but I did test ride the Outie, CR-Vand Patriot on 4 cil, and honestly, all threewere pretty close at power and overal handling. The Patriot I was looking at was pretty close on price, probably just withing 400 bucks of each other. But the CR-V was like 2K, but it had the fugly steel wheels (I don't care that they're steel, wich could make them stronger, but they looked cheap!) and had that weird grille that looks like a nose with the flu. Probably a black CR-V would hide that thing, but thanks but no thanks. I decided on the LS for three things, well four:
1. The engine, it really feels awesome!
2. While I think that the CVT transmision is a very good transmision and probably more advanced than a standard automatic, it's new technology (well, I think it's been around for a long time, but not in Mexico and not as widespread as the standard auto tranny), and I'mkinda skeptical if something happens to it (knock on wood that it doesn't) that some mechanicals might not know much about it.
3. The LS had the ASC feature, while the ES didn't.
4. I could stretch the budget for the LS (just barely), and it was a nice Bling factor... lol!
Would I go for the XLS, if I had the money?
Well, that's a hard question, because it depends if I could just reach the budget, or could buy 3 units but just decided on one, but let's say that I could stretch my budget a bit. The answer is, probably not. It's like 4K more, and the features that I would have liked are:
Bluetooth.
Radiocontrolon the wheel.
6 discs (but, with the IPod it's kinda like a moot question)
well, the stereo is a lot better.
Probably the leather seats, but I'm not that fond of leather
So, 4K would be a lot for this features.
Sorry for the long winded post, but I hope someone would find it helpfull.
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#5
04-02-2008 | 11:32 AM
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 346
From: Montreal
RE: more importantly...
My bike doesn't fit in the Outie either, but since I'm a roadie it's not so much of a problem, I usually ride from home. And I got a roof rack anyways when I take it on the road. This is what I ride.
Fondriest Domino Plus.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15238/4DDD75D8F74B4F9BAB5C25427CCD331D.jpg[/IMG]
Fondriest Domino Plus.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15238/4DDD75D8F74B4F9BAB5C25427CCD331D.jpg[/IMG]
