Top Tips to Help You Not Choose The Wrong Car

Buying a crossover is the easy way in that it spares you from having to know what kind of car you want

The worldwide proliferation of crossovers, a trend which some say will spell the end of traditional automotive body styles as we know them, comes as a result of buyers not knowing what they want from a car. They’re therefore willingly confined to manufacturers’ marketing dungeons where they are dragged down narrow, dimly lit corridors few of which lead to a sporty coupe, a cheap hatchback or a load-lugging estate – they all lead to a mishmash of pseudo qualities all crammed in to one vehicle that 'does it all.'

But do not fret, as we’re here to tell you there’s still a place for sedans and station wagons in this world and also suggest which is best suited to your needs. On top of that, the modern car buyer is faced with the numerous and daunting powertrain choices which can be tricky to pick from, even within the confines of a single model’s range. So what are the quintessential points you should ask yourself about when starting the search for a new vehicle?

The main areas you should focus on are the size and style of vehicle you need, whether it has or doesn’t have all-wheel drive, whether or not you need a vehicle with raised ground clearance, how powerful it should be and could your daily routine allow opting for something electric, electrified or just alternatively fueled.

1. The unexamined body style is not worth buying

Sedans are for people who carry other people in their car frequently, do a lot of highway miles, need decent cargo room (accessing the space is less important) and want something that’s very efficient out of town. Estates (aka wagons) cater for much the same qualities, but with a slight efficiency penalty which is offset by their higher carrying capacity.

Hatchbacks fall in between sedans and wagons, but have less space for bags and people, yet they allow for easy frequent loading of items (i.e. shopping bags, a flat-packed desk). Coupes are for people for which sportiness ranks very highly – some choose coupes that just looks sporty but are really just hatchbacks or sedans underneath, while others are willing to pay a premium and actually get a vehicle that goes as fast as its looks suggest it ought to.

Crossovers promise to offer all qualities from all classes of vehicles all rolled into one, and to a certain degree they succeed (yet cannot ever excel). However, they are inherently compromised and do nothing particularly well – they are the modern definition of what cars have become based on consumer trends, and proof that consumers know nothing and should sometimes be guided with a stick.

Proper SUVs are really few and far between these days. Most of the vehicles we call SUVs are just enlarged crossovers that are really more closely related to the Ford Focus than the Ford Bronco. The traditional SUV featured a ladder chassis, rigid axles and a no-nonsense approach to engineering (the Mercedes G-Class is an SUV, for instance) – most of these are now extinct or on the brink of. They need all of that to crawl on rocks, ford streams, drag felled trees, easily tow a caravan or house your weapons in case of bear attacks.

2. The bigger they are, the harder they… sell

Once you’ve figured out how many people you need to carry on a regular basis, what you would like your car to look like, the likelihood of you ever crossing a mountain stream in it and whether or not you’d like to derive some pleasure from driving, then you can start thinking about size.

There are several experiments showing that most of the space offered by modern cars with their clever compartmentation is really just wasted. If you don’t believe me, then you should camp over a highway overpass and count how many cars you see with more than just the driver aboard.

Sure, choose a vehicle that accommodates your family, friends and vacation plans, but don’t go overboard, as the bigger the vehicle you buy is, the more fuel it uses, the less nimble it is to maneuver and stop as well as harder to park.

Don’t look at it as a status symbol, because in this day and age cars are really more akin to kitchen appliances than the 1970s Datsun you first got behind the wheel of. The size of vehicle you choose should only really based on practical reasons, and this goes for ground clearance as well.

Best advice here is to start as small as you can in your search and work your way up, but do so in a pragmatic and not superficial way. Oh, and remember that small cars nowadays are really much bigger than you expect inside, thanks to clever design tricks to maximize the space like never before.

3. To be or not to be electric, that is the powertrain question

Gasoline and diesel engines are still king when it comes to automotive propulsion. What they offer as standalone packages hasn’t really changed for the last twenty years – gasoline engines offer power (and with the advent of mass market turbocharging torque, as well) but with so-so efficiency, while the diesel is the king of the highway cruise where its frugality is unmatched.

There are electrified variants of either (although much fewer diesel-based systems) which promise to enhance both the standard performance and efficiency figures of the engines. However, in electrifying, these systems tend to end up being laggier and more dulled down than their traditional counterparts – a difference which I really noticed driving the BMW 330e, a car which is much better without electrification.

Electrified hybrids do work in terms of offering better economy, but while sacrificing sportiness and fun in the process. If you don’t care about all of that, can live with droning CVT transmissions and all you care about is to visit the pump as rarely as possible, then these may be for you – don’t expect respect from car guys if you drive one, though.

There is now a fourth way, though, as pure-electric cars are becoming increasingly talented and usable. Their main niggle, the limited range, is slowly being addressed and year-on-year manufacturers are slowly adding the miles. They’re still nowhere near on par with conventional powertrains, but they offer unrivaled refinement (as there’s no audible engine note), convenience (no more gears or gear boxes needed) and kudos as you’re a kind of early adopter driving a mechanical bit of the near future.

Basically, gasoline cars are for power and a pleasant noise, diesels are all for the torque and efficiency, hybrids are neither good nor bad but can occasionally excel and electric cars are still not feasible buys for most drivers. Regarding fuel cell vehicles, it’s really too early to tell how they will progress, but their biggest current hurdle is the exorbitant cost of acquisition.

4. I buy, therefore I pay

You should always be aware of not only the acquisition price of your future vehicle, but also long term costs, servicing intervals, warranties and feedback from people who already own one. Another important aspect is the decision whether to lease or buy, go for a new or second-hand option.

If you go for new, then be an important option you should be aware of is all-wheel drive. It comes in many flavors: it can be permanent, or on-demand, it can be symmetrical or biased to a specific axle, and it can genuinely improve a car’s dynamic abilities and traction or just be overpriced ballast designed to make you part with more of your cash.

Nowadays, it is wise to get a car with as many active and passive safety aids as you can as they will not only keep you safe but also add to the resale value of your car.

If you go for something second-hand, chances are you’ll want to get the most bang for your buck. However, you really need to be careful here, as while there are certainly some safe second hand buys, there are plenty that aren’t and you can end up wasting your money on a nicely polished and detailed scam that’s actually a repaired write-off.

Never buy a car based only on your heart’s desire. There’s a reason why we have the power to reason and in buying a car we should totally exercise that power. Sure, you should not fall into the other extreme of buying something purely for pragmatic reasons – you should find the happiest medium you can between what you want and what you know you should want.

Oh, and always test drive your choice before you buy. Always (!). To make sure you’re not missing out, you could spend a little extra time trying out rival offerings as well, just to make sure your choice is informed. Otherwise, you may run the risk of missing out on something you may have liked more than your ill-informed choice, but which you never tried out because of prejudice.

Final word of advice would be to use online tools for comparing cars, like our very own buying guide, as they are great for quickly putting cars’ spec sheets side by side.

photos: Andrei Nedelea for drivemag