gingerjess
Angel Diva
Yeah... there's at least one in SF, which is home base, so that gives about a 200 mile travel radius... more if you top up in Sacramento or Truckee.
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Best Ski Cars?
- Thread starter Moonrocket
- Start date
Yeah... there's at least one in SF, which is home base, so that gives about a 200 mile travel radius... more if you top up in Sacramento or Truckee.
sibhusky
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I gave away my Audi in 2017. It was showing its age. Replaced it with a 2017 Golf Alltrack.
I'm not an SUV fan. I like cars that can do U turns easily and back out of the parking places at the ski area. The Subaru Outback would have been a full foot longer than my Audi, so that was a non-starter. The Alltrack will not be offered in the US going forward, though. I've been totally happy with it so far, but with Covid it hasn't gone far. After 4 years it's only got 12k miles on it. My favorite thing is Hill Descent mode, since I live on a very icy hill.
I'm not an SUV fan. I like cars that can do U turns easily and back out of the parking places at the ski area. The Subaru Outback would have been a full foot longer than my Audi, so that was a non-starter. The Alltrack will not be offered in the US going forward, though. I've been totally happy with it so far, but with Covid it hasn't gone far. After 4 years it's only got 12k miles on it. My favorite thing is Hill Descent mode, since I live on a very icy hill.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Just rented a VW Tiguan for driving in the Colorado mountains. Handled pretty well. Was nice that the rear seats are actually in three parts. Can put down the small middle section and fit a Sportube or two, or put in a couple pairs of skis side-by-side for a day trip.
What my husband managed to snag for me in late 2020 is one of the few RAV4 Prime Plug-In Hybrids that Toyota just started selling. Almost 40 mile range on EV only, based on about 10 hours charge on 110 at home. So doing errands when I'm home is mostly without using any gas. As a hybrid, the range is 400-450 miles depending on temp and terrain. So I can do 500+ miles in a day without the issues that come up with a full EV car.
My friend has a Tesla. His daughter is about 800 miles away in Lake Placid at boarding school. During the winter he has to charge at least 4 times when driving from NC to LP. Good thing that Tesla has been putting charging stations at Sheetz stations in VA and PA, as well as Stewart's in upstate NY.
What my husband managed to snag for me in late 2020 is one of the few RAV4 Prime Plug-In Hybrids that Toyota just started selling. Almost 40 mile range on EV only, based on about 10 hours charge on 110 at home. So doing errands when I'm home is mostly without using any gas. As a hybrid, the range is 400-450 miles depending on temp and terrain. So I can do 500+ miles in a day without the issues that come up with a full EV car.
My friend has a Tesla. His daughter is about 800 miles away in Lake Placid at boarding school. During the winter he has to charge at least 4 times when driving from NC to LP. Good thing that Tesla has been putting charging stations at Sheetz stations in VA and PA, as well as Stewart's in upstate NY.
Christy
Angel Diva
The RAV4 Prime is so impressive on that front. It doesn't quite tick all the boxes for me in a couple important-to-me other ways, though I'm sorta, halfheartedly trying to keep it on the table because it is just so darn efficient, and better than its competitors in that regard. You get the full $7500 tax credit for it and its significantly less expensive than the Audi I like. I really wish the Venza came in PHEV. It really is ideal except there's no electric capability, and it only gets 40/37. After driving my Prius for so long I can't see getting less than 50 mpg.
It turns out that Subaru's PHEV (Crosstrek Hybrid) is only available in CA and the 9 other states that have CA's emissions rules. Sadly and strangely, WA is not one of those states. (They are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont). So that's off the table. It was likely too small (and not impressive in some other key ways) anyway--a subcompact, with the battery taking up way too much of the cargo area.
I'm a bit of a goner for this car though. In this blue. It makes me swoon.
Christy
Angel Diva
marzNC
Angel Diva
My husband used the Costco Auto Buying program to find a RAV4 Prime close enough for us to pick it up. It's hard to even buy a hybrid in North Carolina. I think it took 3 years before the Prius became available.
Christy
Angel Diva
Toyota allotted very few of the 2021s to the US, but they sent them to markets where their hybrids do well, like here.
santacruz skier
Angel Diva
I have a VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion (AWD) full of bells and whistles that I haven't taken to the mountains yet.......... It feels quite sporty driving though, not like a SUV.....
been going with friend that has hybrid Lexus SUV (larger SUV and very nice)...
santacruz skier
Angel Diva
The Audi is way nicer looking than the Venza. Don't care for that one at all.
ilovepugs
Angel Diva
That’s what I drive. The heated steering wheel is my favorite feature. I keep it in “sport” driving mode and it doesn’t noticeably affect the fuel economy.
ilovepugs
Angel Diva
Now that Dr Pugs and I are undeniably members of the bourgeoisie, it will be a feature I will look to have in all my cars!
marzNC
Angel Diva
I've rented two SUVs this winter for ski trips. The first had a heated steering wheel. The second did not. My new RAV4 has a heated steering wheel. Definitely on the list of "mandatory" features for any future car purchase. For me, it's far more useful than heated seats living in North Carolina.
newboots
Angel Diva
Iwannaski
Angel Diva
I thought of that after I posted. I’ll take a pic next time it’s loaded...otherwise it just looks like I left some boosters in the back of the minivan. Mind you, my children treat my car like their own personal storage area/dumpster, so, you’ll also see a lot of other random things in the car, including a kite.
Just in case, I guess.
I was thinking about it this morning though, and when 6’4” husband begins skiing with us next year, we’ll have to rethink my configuration. It might be time for a ski rack for his outback then.
marzNC
Angel Diva
The RAV4 is a replacement for a 2007 minivan with over 300,000 miles. We still have the minivan but it's no longer up for driving trips of 500-800 miles one-way that I do going from NC to the northeast or midwest. Took a few years to convince DH that it was time to get a new long-distance vehicle now that our daughter is in college.
Christy
Angel Diva
I see your 9 year old minivan and I raise you an 11 year old Prius that's always been parked on the street, in the city, and has all the scrapes, dings and dents you'd expect from a city car that is parked on the street.
Iwannaski
Angel Diva
YEEEESSSSSSS. We live in a first ring suburb...tiny lot, narrow driveway, kids have scraped the side of my car like they are hoodlums keying a car in the city. You get my aesthetic.
Meanwhile, if one of them brings a ski close to mine, I’m like “DON‘T SCRATCH MY TOPSHEET!!!”
Meanwhile, if one of them brings a ski close to mine, I’m like “DON‘T SCRATCH MY TOPSHEET!!!”
