New car shoppers choose their rides based on an array of factors almost as numerous and unique as shoppers themselves.
For some, it’s styling. For others, it’s all about price. Others focus on fuel efficiency. Or functionality. Or performance. Or Safety. Or Comfort. Or off-road capability. Or review ratings. And, in many cases, it’s not a single attribute, but a combination of many, set against a given price-point, that land a certain model in one’s driveway for years to come.
Smart shoppers test drive many models against one another, often more than once, to ensure they wind up with a machine that perfectly fits their needs, tastes, desires, and lifestyle, now and in the future — rather than basing their purchase decision on how well a given model drives down the road from the dealer and back. Ever hear someone complain about how much they hate a car they just bought? That’s not a smart shopper. Hint: you want to be a smart shopper.
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If you’re about to enter the new-car market, and you’re readying to start the shopping and test driving process, consider the following list of tips to help you select, scrutinize, and test-drive that new car like a pro.
Make Some Time: Shopping for a new ride in a hurry is a great way to wind up with a ride you don’t love. Be sure to do your research, visit dealer lots, and conduct test drives when you’ve got enough time to do it with a clear head, and without rushing. Starting the test driving process a month or more ahead of your actual planned purchase point will give you plenty of time to think, analyze, compare, and make a smarter decision. Don’t shop for a car in a single weekend, or on your lunch break. Spend the time, and you’ll thank yourself down the line.
PRO TIP: Want to see a given vehicle up close and in person, but without a sales representative present? Visit local dealers and walk the lot after hours, for a pressure-free browsing experience.
Make a List: What’s important to you in a new ride? A lengthy warranty? Good fuel mileage? All-wheel drive? Blind spot monitoring? Android Auto? A high-performance stereo for long drives? Write down your list of desired attributes in a new vehicle, as well as your ideal and absolute maximum budget, and any other features you’d like to have, but don’t need to have. Laying out your priorities on paper helps ensure you stay focused on what you need, and helps ensure you’ll land on the perfect vehicle.
PRO TIP: Once you’ve set your budget and put your list of “MUST HAVE” features and “NICE TO HAVE” features to paper, bring it with you to show sales representatives you’ll meet in the process. This helps keep you and the sales rep on task and focused on rides that meet your pre-defined needs, saving time and energy. Use tick-boxes and make notes, using a separate sheet for each model you’re considering at each dealer. Show the sales representative that you’re shopping smart and comparing models, and you might wind up with a better deal.
Bring it With You: Your dog’s kennel. The ladder you use for your painting business. Your child seats. Your favorite snowboard. Larger items that regularly find their way into your car should be brought along for the test drive process to confirm that they’ll fit, and how other gear and passengers fit with them on board. Remember that even vehicles of similar sizes and shapes can have vastly different cargo area layouts, so don’t just assume your larger gear and items will fit.
PRO TIP: Most vehicles have folding rear seats, but not all folding seats are created equally. Do the rear seats fold fully flat for easier loading and maximized storage space? Or do they rest at an angle, which can make loading certain types of gear (especially flat, longer items) awkward? Will an adult rear-seat passenger be able to sit comfortably if the rear seat beside them is folded? Be sure to check.
Check the Ride: Ask how long you can test drive the car for, and be sure to visit the roughest road you can find in the process. It’s easy for engineers to make a car ride nicely on a smooth road, but much harder to design a car suspension to maintain its refinement and comfort on a really rough one. Confirm that you’re satisfied with the ride quality of your test drive candidate both on a smooth highway and a badly maintained sideroad covered in bumps, dips, and potholes. On the latter, does the suspension feel and sound flimsy and delicate? Does the car crash into bumps? Or does it maintain composure and comfort, even while the suspension beneath is getting pummeled? Now’s the time to check.
PRO TIP: Take note of the wheels, remembering that cars with larger wheels and thinner tires often ride more roughly than those with smaller wheels and thicker tires. If you’re not satisfied with the rough-road ride quality of the model in question, but you like it otherwise, ask the sales representative if a model with less wheel and more tire is available and visit the stretch of road again. The improvement is likely to be notable.
Be a Passenger: Be sure to sit in all passenger seats of the model you’re considering, noting available headroom, legroom, and shoulder room at all seating positions. If you’re test driving a crossover model with three-row seating, confirm that the seats are roomy enough for their intended passengers now, and as they grow. Be absolutely certain that all seating positions are roomy enough for who is using them, adjusting front seats to be placeholders in checking rear-seat legroom.
PRO TIP: If you’ve got kids, you’ve almost definitely got a barrage of electronic gadgets along for each and every ride including tablets and smartphones. More automakers than ever are taking note and installing power outlets or dedicated USB charging ports throughout each row of seating. Your kids will get all crabby-pants if their batteries die, so confirm that everyone on board has access to a power outlet. High-output USB ports, which charge larger devices faster, are an added bonus, if available.
Park It: Visit a parking lot, and stick the car into as many spaces as you can. Back in. Pull straight in. Parallel park. Then, do it all again. Parking a car numerous times in quick succession can reveal plenty of information about its outward visibility and sightlines, steering effort, turning circle, and the ease with which it can be placed into a tight spot. Is the car easy to park, maneuverable and nimble? Or is laborious to steer, hard to see out of, and difficult to place? Now’s the time to find out.
PRO TIP: Look for advanced parking features, which are available in more abundance and at lower prices than ever. If it isn’t standard, adding a backup camera or simple parking distance sensor system can increase peace of mind dramatically in tight quarters for you, or anyone driving your new car.
Central Command: Chances are, the vehicle you’re considering will have some form of touchscreen central command interface that acts as a hub for media, communications, information, and other vehicle functions. Spend some time analyzing how the interface works: is it fast acting and responsive, or slow and laggy? Pair your phone, plot a course in the navigation system, try the voice-command function, and switch between various audio input sources to get a feel for how user-friendly, logical and responsive the system is. Further, take note of what the system does, and what it doesn’t do, against your needs and tastes.
PRO TIP: Look for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functionality. These must-have features are the latest standard in in-vehicle smartphone connectivity, and upscale selected elements of the user’s handset into the central screen for manipulation and display of contact lists, navigation, media players and other alerts and functions, in exactly the same way they appear on the phone itself. With full voice command and no need to learn a new interface, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are easy-to-use and powerful tools for today’s connected driver.
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