2014 Chevrolet Trailblazer LTZ Vs 2014 Sta. Fe 4x2 AT

[5Speed]

I just wanted to share the following article with you guys--

Explaining All-Wheel, Four-Wheel, Front-Wheel and Rear-Wheel Drive on Edmunds.com

I have been reading. Already test drove the TBZ 2014 LT variant in the auto show just few days ago.

And now, we are still split with our decision...

hehehe suspense pa rin kung alin ang winner para kay Zeph....

[oliver1013]

Sabi sa article dont be a 10% car...so ilan percent ba ng biyahe mo ang kailngan ng hard core?Ilan percent ang sa patag?

[jut703]

Sabi sa article dont be a 10% car...so ilan percent ba ng biyahe mo ang kailngan ng hard core?Ilan percent ang sa patag?

Generally I believe in this principle, which is why I never found it to be a disadvantage to only have 4x2...

Until this happened:


A road trip went all crazy when it started raining and the dry dirt road became muddy and my rear wheels got stuck. Drenched in rain and mud, with dusk approaching in an NPA-infested land, it was a stressful affair trying all sorts of things to get the car out.

In the end, I got saved by calling a friend to tow me out with his 4x4 Montero.

Then again, unless outdoor adventures are your thing, you probably won't find yourself in a situation like this. And more than the 4WD, proper AT tires would have gotten me out of the rut as well.


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[oliver1013]

Kaya nag fozzy ako..a little of everything, just in case..

[niky]

Lots of "it depends" in that equation. For cars with low horsepower, performance is almost always better with front-wheel drive. Weight transfer to the rear only starts to become a problem with higher horsepower/torque versus weight. At this level, with 200 hp diesels, the weight and drivetrain-loss handicaps of rear-wheel drive SUVs mean that the Sorento/Santa Fe are still faster.

Also, front-drive pick-ups with unladen rears being impossible to drive... has the author ever actually driven a front-wheel drive pick-up? Front-drive utes are common outside the United States and non-existent inside it, so I guess he can be excused, but in my experience, a front-wheel drive pick-up drive just like a front-wheel drive car. I've actually owned one. Which is more than I can say for the author.

[Zeph]

Generally I believe in this principle, which is why I never found it to be a disadvantage to only have 4x2...

Until this happened:


A road trip went all crazy when it started raining and the dry dirt road became muddy and my rear wheels got stuck. Drenched in rain and mud, with dusk approaching in an NPA-infested land, it was a stressful affair trying all sorts of things to get the car out.

In the end, I got saved by calling a friend to tow me out with his 4x4 Montero.

Then again, unless outdoor adventures are your thing, you probably won't find yourself in a situation like this. And more than the 4WD, proper AT tires would have gotten me out of the rut as well.


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Yeah this is also what I will hate IF it happens to me using my Strada (btw it's just also 4X2 ). And consequentially, also when using a SUV which should better have the capabilities of a modest off-roader sometimes... That's why one of my target is to own a 4x4/AWD SUV, OR, one of my options is to upgrade my pick-up truck to a 4X4.... Which would only bring more dilemma in our mind...

So still, up to now, we are split with our decision. So what I did these past days is to get quotations for both vehicles- the TBZ LTZ and the Sta Fe 4x2.... So just few days from now, we will make a split decision on what we will get.

Maybe in the future if only they would make all cars AWD , then we could make our mind on what to get in a jiffy.

[Zeph]

Whew!
After months of reading threads, and weeks of deciding which one, with a Split decision, we finally got the Sta Fe instead. What can I say? It's for my parents, and little ones who ride my SUV.

The Sta. Fe is a nice ride. A soft-roader Crossover indeed. All nice specs and details- ika nga a "taste of luxury" we might say.
But, as of the present, there are some things that I observed with the unit. One thing is the level of the major electrical wiring joints which are in front just behind the bumper, near the headlights. It is low, with a height of around 300mm or just below my knee. This could only mean that we cannot let the Sta Fe be stranded or soaked in a near-knee depth flood. Surely it would mess up the wirings at that level. (This is where my Strada would come on handy. ) Second, when I searched the latest fastest/luxury cars, SUVs etc, majority of them are already RWDs to AWDs. So I realized now how beneficial and advantageous RWDs are, especially now that most SUVs already have Traction control etc.

Hyundai Sta Fe may be my first and last FWD vehicle. The next and succeeding SUVs that we will get will surely be at least RWDs.

Thanks very much to all that replied.
And to all tsikoteers, keep it up!

[oliver1013]

Congrats, local or gray market?

[jut703]

The Fort/MS/TB are RWD just because they're based on pickup trucks with ladder-frame chassis. I don't really see why the Sta. Fe's FWD layout is a disadvantage.

You shouldn't be comparing RWD sports cars with RWD SUVs. The former were engineered for handling, the latter was simply a constraint of chassis.


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[Horsepower]

There will be high chance that the engine below could be hit. Also pag baha, mukhang delicate syang ilusong pag me baha e hehe.

I once drove in windshield-deep flood in G.Araneta Avenue (I thought it was just really an empty road, turns out it's neck-deep). Shifted to Reverse and drove over the island. After a car wash and washing of carpets, it was ok save for one busted fog light bulb.

Second, the view for the driver and passenger- Parang mataas yung panels/level of view eh, unlike sa Monty or Strada where you can readily see the roads. O baka siguro hindi lang kami sanay .

You should see the height adjustment lever in the driver's seat.

Thirdly, I think there's no "child proof lock" or something since I could not find buttons to lock all the doors on the driver side. Mahirap sa amin yun kasi minsan may mga batang sakay kami, o pasaherong makukulit.

It's on the door. Open it and check the surface that kisses the frame (that's the most illustrative way of going at it). You should see a slider switch near the hooker. Otherwise, read the fine manual. hehe.

Fifth, mukha ngang malambot suspension sa likod... Para bang pag kinargahan ng 50-70 Kg cargo eh sasayad na ang tires sa fender.

For us, Sta Fe is a crossover, and an Urban SUV.

Just our thoughts... No offense meant. Otherwise, nice ride.

It is. If you have two fat passengers in the 3rd row, the car would "look up". Unless yours is equipped with Auto-ride height adjustment feature. So, never let fat people sit in the back.