Double Post
To those who suggested SUBURBAN. Why is the shift stick placed at the back of the steering wheel? Is it better than being placed beside the driver?
Most Large American SUVs/Trucks have column mounted shifters, heck even older american cars (60s-80s era)....
The Suburban is based on the Chevrolet Silverado which is designed to have no transmission tunnels protruding in the middle of the front foot wells. They do this to increase the footwell area, making a roomier passenger space for the people who use the vehicles in Construction/Engineering work....
Alphard. There's a reason why there's alot of them in Hong Kong.
Although, personally, Ford Expeditions are always the king of value at this price range for the amount of comfort and space you get. Use the other million for gas.
Ok. They have sacrificed it for a better space. Well, which is better for the driver the column or the standard shifter?
For big SUVs like this, with automatics, you don't really need to shift all that much. many Ford SUVs and vans also have column shifters.
The Alphard is more refined than the Starex Limo. It drives better, rides better, has more power, is quieter, has better plastics...
And it resembles an Adventure about as much as a Jeep Commander resembles a Jeepney... which is to say, not at all.
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Sorry for the analogy. Sometime ago, someone here on tsikot commented, and it goes like: "What is more important on a car: performance or looks? It's like a girl choosing someone either with a big dork or good looks."
seriously though... with such a budget, there'd be no "fuel efficient" van/suv because a bigger body is equal to more weight to be tolled upon the engine which is the reason why manufacturers put a bigger engine on them, to the tune of 8-cylinders or lorry-quality diesel displacement.
tsaka po bawal ang text speak dito.
btt: if you lower the power of your big suv, the more it'll need a whole lot of fuel due to the weight. parang ito yung naging problema ng toyota lite-ace back in the 90s. it has a 1.5 liter ngunit dahil sa bigat ng kahang dinadala niya, kasing lakas o mas malakas pa sa 2.0 liter na mid-size sedan (noon) kung mangailangan ng gasolina. in simple terms: the thing in common between an under-powered car and an over-powered car is that they are both guzzlers.
to resolve this query, get a Php3M SUV and save the remaining Php1.5M for the maintenance.
p.s.
most american cars have a column-mounted shifters, not just suvs. ford crown victoria (the common police car in the US which is also the most common taxi car over there,) ford escape, i think even ford taurus are like that. heck, i think even a cadillac escalade (which paris hilton drives) and lincoln navigator also adopted such lay-out. you'll be surprised that even a range rover (which kenrda the playboy housemate drives.) and lincoln limousine, such as these: Abiso ng Redirect do have column-mounted transmission. i mean, don't compare it to L300. :D
In my opinion if you're buying a luxury car you should be able to afford owning it not just because you can buy it doesn't mean you can afford owning it. When i say you can afford owning it that means you should be expecting paying higher for fuel, maintenance and parts. Bad FC, very expensive maintenance and parts should be expected when buying a luxury car. If you don't want those 3 get a car you can afford to own.
Yes it does. I'd suggest you look for Racechip Pro or Unichip for this one. Many of our Tsikoteers here have installed these on their rides and gotten very favorable results. It gives the best results on electronically controlled, turbocharged rides though. There are plug and play versions of these chips so that they won't void the warranty of your car. So if you are looking at the Starex Limousine and Suburban ONLY, I'd suggest you get the Starex Limo and chip it for an extra 20-30 wheel horses or so.
It's used to get the intake air cooler, for evaporative pressure due to the water and methanol blend sprayed into the intake manifold absorving some heat from the intake air. Just like an intercooler does in a turbocharged vehicle. BTW even a turbocharger can be a good way to deal with the fuel-efficiency since it enhances the combustion efficiency...
sorry if i sounded a bit pessimistic on an earlier post. If your purpose is a daily-driver with all the finesse, Starex Limo would be my pick. If the purpose would be for occasional socialite events, or if you need to modify your ride as a bullet-proof transporter, Suburban would be my pick. But it's just me and I might also err.
As far as chips, I have no experience with those enhancements, so far... but i think they only work on diesel engines with crdi technology.
You can chip gasoline vehicles. You can "chip" anything that has an ECU.
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