Car for the countryside

Moving to a new home always makes adjustments to our lives. Our environment is changing, our life schedule is changing. In my case, the move was to a suburb of the capital. I never thought about it, but the stars developed in such a way that we moved to a cozy cottage town near the very border of the capital. Fresh air, silence, nature. The buzz.
But besides the buzz, there were some difficulties. Mostly logistic. Our family has one car and one driver, and the nearest public transport stop is about a kilometer away. Not far, but not close either. Especially in bad weather or at night. During the first few weeks, the schedule of movement took shape by itself and, in principle, everyone was happy. I noticed a funny nuance, my wife and I had some time to talk together. Because earlier, leaving the house, we ran each in his own direction: I was in the parking lot, my wife was on the subway. At home, the three-year-old son occupied all his free time.

After half a year, I began to think about changing the car. Although the Toyota RAV4 of the second generation was absolutely fine with me before. In urban conditions, it seemed to me absolutely universal. Not big and not small. Four-wheel drive and ample ground clearance. A two-liter engine was enough for the head, the automatic transmission did not let you get tired in traffic jams. And the indestructible reliability and reliability of Toyota amazed every day more and more.
But everything flows, everything changes, and for the "rural" life I began to miss him. More and more, I began to fold the rear row of seats. Although the machine is not small, but the volume in the crossover is vertical. In liters, as usual, the volume of the trunk is measured, it seems like a lot, but you can't put your son in a lawn mower or a three-wheeled bike. I have not yet acquired a utility room or a shed, so the need for a large trunk began to strain. During the winter period, the number of trips increased significantly. Plus, fuel consumption has grown to an incredible 14 liters per 100 km. Installing gas equipment would completely deprive the trunk, so I discarded this option right away. The family budget began to crackle a little and I had to think thoroughly about changing the car.

What kind of car do we need? Roomy, comfortable, reliable and economical. With a budget of 10 thousand conventional units, there was little choice. A diesel-powered passenger wagon with a manual transmission seemed to me a reasonable choice. The search for a car dragged on for several months, but in the end I became the proud owner of a fifth generation Volkswagen Golf Variant.
The first thing that impressed me was the huge trunk. It fits absolutely everything, be it a stroller or a lawn mower, a bicycle or a wheelchair, seedlings or 300 kg of cement. In this case, it is not necessary to fold the rear row of seats. Fuel consumption within 6 liters per 100 km in city mode. The "bad roads" package adds an extra 2 cm to the ground clearance and I never had any problems with moving around the village. In winter, diesel fuel consumption increased to 7 liters, which is good news. I was also very pleased with the electric heating in the stove. The interior warms up quickly when the engine is cold. But the lack of all-wheel drive a couple of times still strained.

Car maintenance is an equally important item of expenses, in addition to fuel consumption. The diesel engine requires a more selective fuel choice. The quality of diesel fuel greatly affects the consumption and, according to the omniscient Internet, the resource of the motor. Toyota in this sense is an absolutely hassle-free car - it will not let you down on any gasoline and in any weather. The frequency of maintenance from a German, according to the service book, is every 15,000 km. But, again turning to the experience of heavy fuel lovers, I decided not to tempt fate with all sorts of Long Life oils and I visit the service station every 8-10 thousand km. By the way, the simplest maintenance is much more expensive in comparison with Toyota: 250-260 $ for a German and, accordingly, 150-160 $ for a Japanese. But the Golf has one unit that can really spoil the impression of the car - the clutch. More precisely, a flywheel, it is dual-mass (sometimes it is called a damper). And as a rule, at the first symptoms of clutch wear, vibrations also appear when starting off. This means it's time to change not only the basket with the disc, but also the flywheel. All this is not very cheap, about 2-2 thousand $. There is an alternative to a two-mass flywheel, but with a loss of comfort. So when buying a not new Golf with a diesel engine, it is worth paying attention to this particular unit. Volkswagen has not yet raised any significant problems. By the way, the mileage for today is 160,000 kilometers. There is an alternative to a dual-mass flywheel, but with a loss of comfort. So when buying a not new Golf with a diesel engine, you should pay attention to this particular unit. Volkswagen has not yet raised any significant problems. By the way, the mileage for today is 160,000 kilometers. There is an alternative to a dual-mass flywheel, but with a loss of comfort. So when buying a not new Golf with a diesel engine, it is worth paying attention to this particular unit. Volkswagen has not yet raised any significant problems. By the way, the mileage for today is 160,000 kilometers.
However, on roads where there is no equal and smooth asphalt, it is necessary to have a good running gear on the car. Once I had to replace the coilovers (bought here https://carwrenching.com/best-miata-coilovers/). But as the new coilovers were installed, the car became easier to overcome the uneven road surface.
Otherwise, this car suits me. It has everything I need - comfort, spaciousness, economy. If you add four-wheel drive, you get the perfect car for the suburbs.
Ideally, it seems to me, there should still be two cars. Station wagon or minivan for family trips and minicar for everyday hustle and bustle. And it is desirable that they were with hybrid power plants. I'm not ready for electric trains yet, and diesel engines are going out of fashion