I’m currently driving around Iceland. I have seen a Renault Megane, a plethora of newer Yaris’, one Yaris Cross (I lost my damned mind) and a crap ton of Suzuki Jimnys. Now, I’ve driven in some awful conditions in the states. Blizzards in Montana, Tornadoes in Texas, hail storms in the South and ridiculous wind in Arizona. I have driven in all of that in this tiny country, all in a short wheel base Kia Sportage. I was also outpaced by a fucking Yaris today, absolutely bombing down the mountain in 1c weather. Mind you, it was not a GR so AWD was out of the question.
I am so impressed by this Kia and all of the insanely capable Jimnys I am seeing coming off of F-roads.
If a harsh place like Iceland can coexist with RAM 2500s and modern Yaris’, why can’t we?
Oh, and when I say around I don’t mean poking around Reykjavik, I am literally driving the Ring Road around an entire country. Coolest experience ever.
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The US laws prefer large vehicles.
Look into the 25% import tax on small work trucks- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
Also, larger SUVs and trucks get preferential treatment under gas mileage standards. Someone more familiar can explain better.
FYI - my daily is a 24 year old Subaru.
Once a vehicle is over a certain size, vehicles get exempted from fuel economy standards and taxes because they’re classified as “light trucks”, which was originally intended for work vehicles.
Do you have the same light bulbs in your instrument cluster as the 01? Fuckin tachometer and speedo lights went out in my Forester and I’m a little salty. I had a ford fiesta, loved it, hated it, sold it before we moved so we wouldn’t have to tow it. Got an 01 Forester. Miss having subcompact hatches so hard, so we found an 01 Honda insight, but it’s rouuugh lol.
There are a few out but I can still see. The light on the radio annoys me because it is out entirely and I haven’t gotten around to replacing the radio yet.
People are constantly surprised when I tell them my GTI is great in winter with snow tires. These are the same people who tell me their SUVs are perfect for snow rocking bald all seasons cause FoUr WhEeL dRiVe.
I’ve been driving front wheel drive hatchbacks for almost 20 years in 62+ degrees north latitude. This winter was the first time I got stuck when we suddenly shattered the october snowfall record and it overwhelmed the snow removal capacity. I’d still want a AWD, but it’s really not necessary. It’s probably faster and safer to ski to work in conditions where AWD is a must.
i would have a set of chains with me if my area was known to be snowy. or did you get stuck with chains on?
I have studs. Only tractors use chains here afaik.
I don’t doubt that at all; I had a civic si that was the best car I’ve ever owned in the snow and I only had all-seasons on it. One time, I stayed at work way later than I should have when a blizzard was hitting and made the 20 mile drive home without an issue. As I got within 5 miles of my house there were very few other vehicles on the road except for an occasional truck and they weren’t having any easier of a time than I was.
It’s pretty uncomfortable to drive around the city in 4x4 mode. I’d much rather have an AWD drive vehicle unless you’re really driving through deep snow or going off-road. The clearance on trucks is nice though.
The success of the Maverick gives me hope we will see more attempts at small vehicles going forwards.
Think the smallest modern car we got was the Toyota Yaris which was a rebranded Mazda2. And that got axed due to low sales. Consumers need more of an incentive to downsize
Can’t go wrong with some hot hatchbacks, Fiesta, Corsa, Clio, Golf, Astra, Focus, Civic, Yaris.
Some fantastic cars which some of them can be pretty fast, handle well, and being hatchback have a decent amount of room. And cheap as shit to run.
1st gen yaris driver here, i fucking love this thing. it’s small from the outside, so i get into parking spaces very easily. but toyota also made the most with the available space they have. i am 6’4" and fit in it perfectly. we fit a full-sized mountain bike into there once, and i’m sure another one would’ve gone in as well.
did i mention it does 40mpg? a 20 year old car with 70hp (that not being very much, but it was also available with up to 105).
We had the Jimny here for a bit, called the Suzuki Samurai. There was also the upsized cousin, the Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara and Geo/Chevy Tracker into the 00s. That’s what I have and love it. I wanted some 4wd capability but not the fuel consumption or parking space for a normal suv/pickup. It weighs less than a modern Miata and is shorter, too. As a 2 door variant, it suits my primary driving need: solo and single-passenger short trips with less than a seat-full of cargo. The average car-owning household in the US owns something like 2.3 cars and is in the suburbs/semi urban. They don’t all have to be 7-seat or 8ft-bed trucks. And this whole fear of snow… Don’t go out. Stock up food before storms. US suburbs fare just fine with modern communication and snow removal as long as it’s not Texas. Your job won’t miss you if you die in a blizzard
How about: America needs less and smaller cars
There are tornadoes in Iceland?
Sure felt like it! Winds were kicking at 40km sustained on the west coast. Absolutely killed our mileage that day. But no, no tornadoes
A Kia Sportage is a small crossover. That category is one of the most popular in America. There are already a huge number of them on the roads and the models like the Rav4 and CRV are often among the top 5 models in terms of new cars sold.
As a sidenote please do not buy a Kia. The company just simply isn’t committed to quality. Every few years it’s revealed a huge number of their models has some fatal flaw. The company always refuses to fix everything until they get their ass sued into oblivion.
Very true but we don’t have this Kia. The Sportage here is a shorter wheel base than what we have in the states. I want to say 6 inches shorter overall.
I drove that thing to a Glacier today. Was doing 45km/h on large river rocks. Handled it like a champ! I am thoroughly impressed.
I really think the Duster could be a huge hit over here. I rented a turbodiesel duster in Iceland and that thing is dog slow but they’re around $12k with loads of ground clearance, 4WD, plenty of interior space, and gets around 45 mpg. I went on some pretty gnarly “mountain vehicle only” F-roads and it handled them like a champ with only a little rubbing on the rocks.
Ironically, though, Iceland competes with the USA in size and number of SUVs and trucks. The country is crawling with “superjeeps” on big lifts and 44”+ tires that dwarf the average American brodozer.
Yeah, I am shocked by the amount of larger F150s and RAM trucks I’ve seen. Even witnessed a GMC Sierra in Akureyri.
The Duster is a sweet little ride. I’d snag one if they brought it to the states.
It makes sense though if you think about it. From talking to the locals, of the small cars seem to be either tourists or citydwellers because much of the country is inaccessible in the winter without large low pressure tires and high clearance.
I hope the volvo ex30 has a lot of success with it’s size, price and speed.
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Bet. A friend lives in Missoula and routinely drives to Butte in his Kona and says it handles the roads just fine.
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So the biggest trucks had to pull over for weather but it’s the Jimny that’s too small? And the coolest thing about little trucks is they float on snow. It’s funny you think a Jimny will get stuck in snow “over it’s headlights” when you can’t drive through 3ft of snow, either. And you nailed it about Montana snow, really did, by showing a map that indicates the route between OP’s friend’s two destinations is literally the highest category. Nailed it.
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Ground clearance is over 8" but I’m not sure why that’s relevant since you’re driving through the snow. Are you clearing over it or are you plowing it? And I feel like you don’t understand how a smaller, lighter vehicle can get by all the same with a smaller engine. You should also really go out with a tape measure and see how low the bottom of a bumper and how low the actual ground clearance a big boy truck is. And don’t go into lift kits and other mods because the global functional aftermarket for a Jimny is as big as a US pickup’s options are for actually leaving pavement.
