Going To Buy A Car? Look At Performance
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Written by: Alex Troy
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Word Count: 525 |
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 |
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Car magazines are full of performance comparisons of all cars, from the cheapest 'econobox', to the luxury cruiser. Each has its merits and its faults. When one gets down to brass tacks, though, much of the evaluation process revolves around personal opinions.
Once you have settled on two or three models to consider buying, you can examine the issue of performance, if you haven't already done so. Then you can sit down to think about how important it is in comparison to other factors related to your life with the car. You should also think about special conditions the car may have to be used in, such as hauling heavy or bulky cargo, and towing a trailer-tasks which demand a car with a powerful engine and a rugged chassis.
High performance carries some price tags in different combinations, depending on the model. Here are some general guidelines:
If a car accelerates faster than average, it will also consume more fuel than average.
High performance cars, or regular cars with certain performance features added, often carry higher insurance costs.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found, in comparing performance-oriented models to their more pedestrian versions (such as a Ford Mustang with a 4-cylinder engine to a Mustang V8) that the performance versions always generate higher and more frequent insurance claim payments. There was no attendant increase in injuries, however.
Performance is often achieved through technological complexity, such as turbo-chargers, superchargers, and sophisticated electronic engine controls. These add to the cost of ownerships-at purchase time, and even more at the time when repairs are going to be needed a few years later.
Sports car steering response and cornering are usually achieved in two ways: a permanently stiffened suspension or electronic controls which control springs and shock absorbers. In the first instance, the ride will be harsher and more jarring; in the second, repair costs will be significantly higher when the high-tech suspension components wear out, as they inevitably will.
Performance tires are terrific on dry pavement, but they usually fall far short of even the most modest all-season tires when it comes to slickened roadways.
Lightweight aluminum wheels look great and help improve handling a little bit, but they are much more easily damaged than steel wheels and they cost a lot to replace.
Last, but hardly least, what good is a car that can reach 100 km/h from a standing stop in six seconds when all one has to face during the week is bumper-to-bumper traffic moving along at 50 km/h? What use are tires rated for 200 km/h speeds on highways where the speed limits arc set at 100 km/h?
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