Helped my mom buy a car Yesterday

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without going too deep into family situation my mom asked me to help her buy a car while i was still here in NYC metro area. this side quest has actually delayed the process of me packing my remaining stuff by about a week but it is now done so i can focus on packing again.

as usual i tricked my mother. she thought we got her a car based on me carefully considering her needs but in reality we simply got her a car that i used to want myself ( it’s a used car ).

but only in the end. i did try to examine the options first.

noting that my mother is small i first tried to find a small car for her. the first car we test drove was the base Mini Cooper with 3 cylinders and 2 doors. when i say “we” test drove i mean i drove and my mother was in the passenger seat. coming off 400 hp Volvo the 135 hp Mini Cooper was painfully slow - i couldn’t bear it. the engine sounded like it was dying while the car barely accelerated.

please note the Mini we drove was the generation pictured above, which is not the latest generation that recently came out ( we were looking at used ). the new generation is improved and now has 4 cylinder in the base model. the last gen also had 4 cylinder option in the “S” model, but we test drove the base 3 cylinder.

anyway, on the way back from Mini dealership we stopped by Toyota and test drove the new Prius. it had roughly same slow acceleration as Mini and just as noisy but with some key differences:

1 - acceleration was linear ( yay ! )

2 - ergonomics were atrocious ( deal breaker )

there were two problems with the ergonomics of the prius:

1 - the sloping roof ( see image above ) makes it impossible to get in and out.

2 - the instrument cluster is obstructed by the steering wheel ( exactly as pictured below ):

i just couldn’t sign off on such a flawed vehicle …

continued below …

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the next car we test drove was the VW Arteon:

it had the same 8 speed transmission as the mini but instead of 135 hp 3 cylinder turbo a 26 hp 4 cylinder so i thought it would fix the lack of power in the mini …

but it didn’t. it had power high in the revs but almost nothing down low. i knew then i would have to step up to a V6.

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the next car we drove was Genesis G70 3.3T AWD

compared to Arteon it had a much bigger engine and two turbos versus one as well a 365 hp vs 268 and it should have been fast …

and it was. even though it was a used car that lost a fair amount of power from new ( i had driven the new one back when it came out ) once the turbos kicked in the G70 was flying …

please note the 3.3T engine isn’t just a V6 twin turbo - but it uses large bore cylinders like a Porsche 911. i drove this engine many times in different cars and it always impresses.

finally i thought we have something that doesn’t suck. i was on a regular road ( not a highway ) pressed gas, looked at the speedo and i was at 80 mph already - in my mind i thought that was it - but to be sure i told mom to switch seats and drive … and that’s where the G70 fell apart …

my own mind was in tune with the car and without having to think too much i was always in the right gear simply by judging the space on the road then applying the right amount of input to the accelerator to be in the gear i wanted to be in - but needless to say my mother wasn’t driving like that. she never hit the powerband of the engine and was always stuck between gears with the car not knowing what to do and transmission stumbling and tripping over itself - it was horrible. i couldn’t bear to be in the passenger seat while my mother was driving the G70. that car simply doesn’t work for the way normal people drive. you HAVE TO drive it hard.

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at that point it became clear to me that the drivetrain my mother needed was Toyota’s hybrid system because that is the system that excels in terms of linearity at the low end of power / rpm range - it is just so predictable when driven slowly and doesn’t require any thinking from the driver

whereas with a G70 you need to be very deliberate about how much space on the road you will use by pressing the pedal and having the engine go into turbo powerband - no such math is required with the Toyota Hybrid system because the powerband is completely linear - it always goes proportionally to how you are pressing the pedal - no need to worry about what gear you’re in or if you’re in the powerband etc …

yes obviously without the turbos the Toyota system is slower but even after i demanded my mother try to press the gas pedal harder in the G70 she never pressed it hard enough for turbos to spool up anyway …

so i knew i had to go back to Toyota System - i just had to find a car other than the Prius …

i also didn’t want to get the Camry because i had a Camry Hybrid before …

and i didn’t want to get Rav4 because it failed the moose test …

there was only one option left …

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and that option was Lexus RX 450h ( used one, obviously )

it had none of the ergonomics or buzzy engine issues of the Prius and mom was instantly comfortable driving it unlike the G70

but what really sealed the deal for me was that despite it being a large car it surprisingly had very little headroom. compared to Mercedes GLE that i had rented in Florida:

it felt like the roof had been squashed and headroom eliminated.

now why is that a good thing ? because i didn’t want to pay for something i didn’t need. my mother is not tall so something like the GLE would make no sense for her as she would be paying for a headroom that can accommodate somebody who is 6’5” while being average height for a woman.

the RX by comparison felt like there was not enough headroom for my own height, but perfect for my mother. i then also remembered that both guys i know in the gym who drive the RX are manlets. once i realized that i knew we found the car we were looking for.

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now at the beginning i said we got a car i had previously wanted myself, but that is only partially true.

i wanted specifically the HYBRID SYSTEM in the 450h ( shown below is the same system, but in the previous gen body )

this system uses Toyota’s proven 3.5 liter V6 and three electric motors ( two in the front for the hybrid system and one in the rear for AWD )

in other words this is a FULL-FAT hybrid system from Toyota, whereas many other Toyota products use watered down versions that are either 4 cylinders or don’t have the rear AWD motor.

i always wanted this particular hybrid system but i never wanted a crossover and Toyota / Lexus never put this system into their sedans.

i didn’t want a crossover because they aren’t agile enough for me but my mother doesn’t care about that and so we were able to get something that my mother enjoys driving and that simultaneously allowed me to buy the hybrid system i always wanted to get, even though i will never actually drive it ( i had test driven it, of course ).

what RX450h is then, is a premium version of RAV4 Hybrid and / or Prius AWD.

RX450h, Rav 4 Hybrid and Prius AWD all use a third electric motor in the rear for AWD but the difference is Prius uses a 2.0 liter 4 cyl. RAV4 uses a 2.5 liter 4 cyl. and RX450h uses a 3.5 liter V6.

the RX is also wider than Rav4 and during my brief test drive the suspension felt overall more stable / less sloppy than the Rav4, which is of course the main reason why i had to go with RX over Rav4 because, as previously mentioned, the Rav4 failed the moose test ( see video below )

i have test driven the Rav4 many times and was never satisfied. the RX450h while no sports car somehow felt more sorted.

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mom took the Lexus to NYC.

but not before i spent a day in the passenger seat teaching her all the functions. we entered all the relevant addresses into the GPS ( it doesn’t have Apple Car Play or Android Auto ) and so on.

the one thing that stands out about this Lexus ( as well as the ones i drove in the past ) is how good the sound insulation is. you never have to raise your voice in a Lexus. in a Prius you would have to shout to be heard.

sound insulation is the main difference between Lexus and Toyota. the difference will be obvious even to somebody who doesn’t pay attention to such things.

if you have never been in a Lexus you must think it’s a souped up Toyota, but once you have been in a Lexus you will think of a Toyota as a Lexus with all of the sound insulation stripped out.

some Boomers buy Toyotas and try to add their own sound insulation but that will never work as well as having it from the factory. Lexus doors for example are designed with extra rubber seals beyond what Toyotas have to block out more noise etc. You can’t add those to a door that isn’t designed for them.

i wouldn’t get a Lexus myself because they definitely lack spice. Well made with good ride and sound insulation - Lexus is a Boomer’s idea of Luxury. you still need a German car if you like to drive fast or if you want the latest tech. but my mother is a Boomer and most certainly does NOT drive fast and for what Lexus has set out to achieve - they have achieved it.

as most Lexus products the car is competent, just not exciting. and that’s exactly what i was looking for in a car for my mom.

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one more point related to the previous point …

the RX450h actually had the best engine sound of the cars we test drove …

i initially attributed this to the higher-end sound insulation but i now realize this Lexus has fake engine noise …

furthermore it turns out my Volvo has fake engine noise too …

and so did Camry Hybrid i had before the Volvo …

so the last 3 cars i bought / leased in a row all have / had fake engine noise and i didn’t even know it until now …

i could tell the engine sound was fake in BMWs i drove because BMWs have such an obviously fake sound like a cheap video game but i couldn’t tell it was fake in Volvo, Toyota and Lexus because they weren’t overzealous with it.

Volvo / Toyota / Lexus basically just added the fake roar / rumble while BMW also added fake harmonics to sound like a fake induction noise that gave it away as being fake …

but you know what ? once you get used to the fake engine noise you can’t go back. the cars without it just sounded like hair dryers.

in fact that’s probably what sold me on the lexus. it was the first car we test drove that didn’t sound like ass. ultimately it doesn’t matter if the sound is fake or not - just whether you can live with the sound.

the Lexus is otherwise so quiet and the fake engine noise is so low in frequency that it really isn’t objectionable. much better than the real but loud and high frequency noise of some of the other cars. i dig it.

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I should mention that one car i had ruled out at the beginning of the search was the new Honda Civic Hybrid and it was ruled out because it had fake gear shifts. I never bothered to test drive it because of that.

Now you may be wondering why I, an audiophile, would accept fake engine noise and not fake gear shifts ?

First of all i honestly didn’t know the engine noise was fake until today, but even if i knew it was fake it would make no difference to my decision. why ?

Because fake engine noise has no effect on the operation of the drivetrain. It simply allows car designers to use more sound insulation ( quieter overall cabin ) and also not have obnoxiously loud exhaust ( not disturb neighbors ) yet still allow you to hear the engine on the inside of the car by using a microphone and speakers and maybe some digital signal processing.

by contrast the fake gear shifts in the Civic Hybrid actually vary engine speed to simulate gear shifts which both places unnecessary stress on the engine, increases fuel consumption and makes the car slower all in one fell swoop.

so both are equally 100% fake but fake engine noise has no effect on performance, economy or longevity while fake gear shifts make all of those things worse. this is why fake gear shifts are a deal breaker for me but fake engine noise isn’t.

it sure is embarrassing i didn’t know it was fake but i think going forward i will be able to tell when it is fake and when it isn’t. the fake engine sound is unnaturally deep and pleasing. the real engine sound is scratchy / irritating / aggravating and can only be deep in a car with exhaust so loud as to be almost deafening outside of the car.

for any car with reasonable exhaust volume level outside the car it will be almost inaudible inside the car. all you will hear inside the car is unwanted metal on metal sound. any of the WANTED deep, rich, lush, bassy growl / roar you hear inside the car is fake ( or at least deliberately piped in ).

wish i knew this sooner but at least i am still learning something new even in my old age !

and as i said ultimately fake engine noise is the lesser of the two evils. the other evil being a car with super loud exhaust / poor sound insulation such that you can hear the roar / growl without any fakery but at the expense of having to shout to be heard and setting off car alarms.

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effectively the cabin has a transfer function or frequency response …

if you wanted to hear the exhaust properly inside the cabin you would have to saw off the catalytic converter, remove engine particulate filters ( in Europe ), replace the muffler with a fiberglass filled pipe, open the windows and drive through a tunnel while keeping your foot on the gas …

but if you want it to sound this way all the time without wasting gas or scaring bystanders or breaking noise and emissions regulations or having a cabin that doesn’t insulate you from road and wind noise you have to modify the transfer function by allowing the sound to enter the cabin through the speakers …

you can in effect electronically equalize the transfer function of the cabin as well as intake and exhaust systems to get the engine to sound how you want without aforementioned compromises …

i can understand why some might object to this but there is realistically no alternative ( except maybe getting an EV and accepting complete silence )

just like how some people may object to digital signal processing in speakers or to electronic music but reality is acoustical music will never have the kind of rich bass that electronic music has and also passive speakers will never have the performance of DSP based active speakers …

get with the times old man the future is now !

now you may say why not just have fake engine sound off and accept extremely quiet engine sound that will remain … and the answer is because if your car has an engine you want to know what it is doing. the “fake” engine sound in all these cars is still true to the actual speed and load on the engine. it is only fake with respect to the cabin insulation that it bypasses electronically.

in case of the last 3 cars i purchased / leased for myself or my mother ( all 3 of these cars were hybrids but from different brands ) the fake sound turns off when the engine turns off. while the car is in electric mode it is silent. as such it isn’t really fake as much as augmented, whereas the gear shifts in the Civic are actually FAKE.

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or rather if the sound has digitally synthesized harmonics ( what BMW seems to be doing ) then it IS fake

but if it only uses a microphone and doesn’t synthesize anything then it is only augmented ( but not fake )

BMWs sound fake to me. Toyota / Lexus / Volvo sound augmented. But without doing A/B testing with the system on and off i can’t be sure.

And in the end it doesn’t matter. All that matters is if you like how it sounds.