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.
Hard disagree. My dad’s grand caravan feels straight up unsafe most of the time because it’s so heavy, like I’ll just plow through things instead of getting out of the way or stopping. My Mazdaspeed3 in comparison can zip around hazards and stop on a dime because it’s literally almost half as heavy.
my granddad had a 5-cylinder diesel automatic SUV which easily weighed 2 tons. it did not feel like the car even wanted to move at all.
meanwhile my 1L 4-cylinder manual with a weight of not even 1 ton feels like i could outmaneuver anything.
Thats because its a chrysler. A grand caravan at that. No minivan has ever drove well.