The Green Rev-olution: 2011 car-buying guide
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It's all over now, Baby Blue.
It was a very sad day for me when I realized that my 2004 Mini Cooper S was quickly nearing 100,000 miles; and that, in addition to its increasingly frequent need for expensive repairs, it would very soon be losing most of its resale or trade-in value.
And so it was with a heavy heart that I began the painful, arduous, frustrating process of figuring out what my next vehicle would be. Should I explore pick-up trucks for their usefulness around Better Farm? Was another Mini Cooper in the cards? Which vehicles were leading the pack for fuel efficiency? Emissions? Reliability?
I was surprised to learn that the Mini Cooper wasn't so much as ranking with these new car models. I continued my search and narrowed it by price range, size, and, practicality for my day-to-day life.
With two dogs and frequently varied styles of transport needs, I knew I wanted a hatchback with back seats that could be folded down flat. I also knew I wanted something sporty with stick shift (six speeds if possible) and a two-door model. And, let's get serious, I am in no position to be checking out Lexuses. I did make a few phone calls in to the Mini dealership back in New Jersey where I got my last car, but their disinterest and unwillingness to so much as call me back in a timely manner turned me totally off. So I kept looking into top ratings for "green" vehicles in 2011, and found a bulletin from
Mother Earth News with the following:
This year’s list highlights the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius, Ford Fiesta, Honda CR-Z and Volkswagen Jetta TDI as the best green cars in the 2011 model year.
I did some test driving and number-crunching (with a lot of help), and finally found my new car:
Volkswagen Golf TDI Diesel
Avg. Paid:
Ranked by US News as 8 out of 33
, the new Volkswagen Golf (available as a 6-speed manual, hallelujah!) promises up to 50 mpg on the highway. Reviewers applaud the diesel option for its great fuel economy and torquey engine that make it a great city cruiser. But while on the
it says average city-driving speeds are in the 30mpg-range, I had a much different experience:
Not too shabby, eh? It takes a little getting used to to not be driving a glorified go kart around anymore (or hugging those turns on Cottage Hill Road the way I loved to—though the VW
does
zip around), and all the space is more than I'm accustomed to. But so far I've got to admit that the Volkswagen is quickly winning this little heart over. Happy motoring...
