When I was a kid, I would sit on the bus and look at every car around me in order to identify them all. I started becoming very passionate about cars, and wanted to talk about them to anyone who would listen. I wanted to become a mechanic.
Well, that desire passed, but I still feel pretty excited about cars. My first one was a fire engine red Volvo that seemed to always leak fluids and needed a consistent amount of suspension work – as it had rusted through once it passed 250k miles and the odometer was stuck. That car was a great vehicle – it ran without oil for I don’t know how many miles, and served me well. It was rear wheel drive and spun me out a number of times in the rain, so although Volvo has a recognition for safety, this isn’t exactly my number one pick in modern days for a kid.
Enter: My first Japanese vehicle
Once I got my first job, I figured it was time to get a better car for my commute into the city. Something with air conditioning. And a V6. Something reliable. It took test driving just one vehicle for me to know exactly what I wanted – a Honda Accord.
This car was a huge trade up in terms of comfort: I didn’t have to breathe in CO fumes from the exhaust, it had ample power, leather, heated seats, a decent sound system and it went pretty fast down the highway. That is, when it wasn’t in the shop. I bought the Honda because I heard that these vehicles were over-engineered. To my surprise, I was left stranded several times as the car fouled its spark plugs and sputtered to its demise on the side of the road four times (when I left this vehicle, it had only 65k miles). Turns out, owners had filed a class action lawsuit, since this particular engine had a known fault. I got tired of the dealer giving me the runaround, and made it very clear they were to fix it – and low and behold – they had to replace quite a lot the last time the car went in: a whole new short block, and new catalytic converters (the oil and raw gas that made it in from each time the car misfired had totally ruined them). If I recall, the damage was somewhere around $6-7k – and thankfully I didn’t have to pay a dime for that. All I did have to pay for was the alternator, which went out around 35k (what a surprise).
With all of these mechanical issues came terrible fuel economy as well: 17mpg average. On the highway, I was lucky to get 23mpg (though it was rated at 30). And the plumes of smoke behind me weren’t great either.
At the time, I didn’t really know any better, but this car was my pride and joy. I could barely afford it, and it definitely looked good (from 10 feet). I got upset every time it got dinged when it was parked in the city (quite frequently, honestly). I thought this car was the pinnacle of engineering. How wrong (or just naive) was I?
A whole new world
I started to get frustrated with my car, not knowing when it would leave me stranded next. It looked beautiful, but it only had two doors. And suddenly, I realized that I would need to have something more comfortable to visit my parents and drive them around – and put child seats into once I have a kid. So, off to look at something with four doors. My wonderful wife (then girlfriend) tolerated me taking her to see lots of aged luxury vehicles. I sat in an LS 430, which she coined a grandfather vehicle. It rode like a boat – and it reminded me of one my uncle had back in the day. I evaluated some German cars, but found that reliability of these vehicles weren’t great, and honestly, once I sat in them – they really didn’t age terribly well. BMWs that are 4 years old start to look really quite gross with melty plastics everywhere.
Enter the GS. It took one drive with this particular model that was most certainly involved in some sort of minor collision for me to fall in love. I know for a fact, that the dealer I traded in my old car gave me a crap deal on the trade in – but you know what? I don’t really care – for Toyota Camry money, I got one of the best vehicles I think I could have.
This car has the best design for several reasons – and it isn’t necessarily because it’s the perfect car.
- The dealer experience is top notch. I know I’m paying for that free coffee and donut and wifi, but at least they smile at you when they take your money. It honestly hasn’t been too much of a premium over Honda dealer prices- and yes I have had to do some things to this older car that cost a lot of money – but the dealer stood by their product. They gave me a set of brand new rear brakes, and fixed up the front suspension free of charge ($$$).
- There are few cars more comfortable! I just get in the car, and the temperature is just right, my seat and steering wheel are heated or cooled, my music starts playing – the steering wheel comes back to its normal position to greet me.
- GPS in cars is actually underrated. This one is pretty huge – and I’ve had several people make fun of me for using it rather than my phone’s GPS – it sure doesn’t need a data connection to find where we are. And that’s saved my bacon more than once.
- The lighting design in the vehicle is awesome. At night – the entire cabin is bathed in a soft white glow- everything is dimly lit so you don’t have to fumble around in the dark – down to the rear seat wells and the puddle lamps in the door. Looking at the car, it’s hard to tell that there’s anything luxury about it (which I like) – but at night it really looks beautiful.
- Fuel economy is insane. With all wheel drive, I expected this beast to be have a thirst that made my old car seem pretty tame. However, I’ve gotten 32 MPG on the highway without breaking a sweat. Average mixed driving has returned 25 MPG – and I’m not always a conservative driver.
- Sound system. I’m sure the Mark Levinson-thousand-watt-million-speaker experience is wonderful. However, this one is just fine – very clear and loud and a pleasure to rock out to on a long drive. Auto critics love to bash the “remote control” system for the car. And sure – it is not intuitive the first time you use it – but honestly I don’t use it enough while driving to really care.
- Speaking of all wheel drive, the car inspires confidence when driving. It’s not BMW 3 series grippy and sporty around corners, but it never loses composure. 0-60 is some insane number; but I don’t think there’s been a single time I’ve broken the wheels loose on this car, and I’ve only seen the traction control light come on once – and that was definitely the car saving my bacon on an off ramp that was approached too eagerly. By contrast, my Accord always was chirping tires off the line and although the Volvo couldn’t spin tires with its tractor engine, it always seemed to want to spin in a circle in wet conditions. Nothing like taking this car and just driving over the snow bank that the plow left. It really is amazing and it may spoil me for every future car I have.
- It’s quiet. And it’s loud. The engine sounds great for a six cylinder, but when we’re cruising on the highway, it’s hard to notice what speed you’re going, because it’s smooth as silk – and it’s silent. I call this my gentleman’s express because it feels like a jet plane – I’ve put some serious miles on and always feel refreshed. It’s not too heavy, and steering is tight and responsive. What a fun drive.
All of this has been wonderful. Did I need it? No. But did it make driving around a lot during this pandemic quite the enjoyable drive? You bet! I am incredibly lucky day in, day out. I hope that I can bring back to the world ten fold what it has brought me. Thank you, engineers at Toyota for making one of the best executed sedans I’ve ever been in – it was roughly the same price as the Accord. If you ever evaluate the two, just save up for the Lexus, you won’t be upset.
Connor MacDonald 