Suburban Dad and the Econobox Invasion

As a dad of two teens, I'm always interested in new cars that may appeal to them. Here in L.A., Nissan and Kia rolled out two new versions of what we used to call, not so charitably, econoboxes. With all the safety advances now required, very few cars are true econoboxes today (just look at their MSRPs), but Nissan's Cube and Kia's Soul are built to take on Scion's xB, already in its second generation.

Of the two, I think I like the Kia better for my kids. (Full disclosure, I own a Kia Sedona). That doesn't mean I think it's necessarily the better of the two, but I think that, given the likely costs of each car, what they offer, and a comparison of features and interiors, the nod goes to the Kia.

Suburban Dad: And the Vacation Winner Is...

After more than 2,500 miles, the votes are in and tabulated. My wife and I, along with our three kids, have finished our 15 days on the road, going from Chicago to Rochester, N.Y., then Gettysburg, Pa.; Washington, D.C.; Burlington, N.C.; and home again. We made the journey in four three-row SUVs, including a Ford Flex, Dodge Journey, Mazda CX-9 and Honda Pilot, and each was as idiosyncratic as my kids.

First, we'll take a look at the stats from our trip, which seems a lot longer on paper than it did in person:

• 2,706 miles over 15 days
• 50 hours (more or less) behind the wheel
• 145 gallons of gas
• $568.75 spent on gas
• Average gas mileage of 18.67 mpg (which, frankly, is higher than I expected)
• $3.49 a gallon was the cheapest gas price we saw (and paid) on our trip, and that was in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
• $4.39 a gallon was the highest gas price we saw (and didn't pay, though it wasn’t far from the cheapest gas around) in Washington, D.C.

Now, here’s how each of the cars fared in different categories:

2009 Honda Pilot Packing and Gas Mileage

Now that Leg 4 of the trip is complete, and we can take a look at how the Pilot fared on mileage and packing. Here’s the damage for the 2009 Honda Pilot Touring:

• 882.9 miles of driving, the longest of the four legs
• 17 hours (split over five days)
• An average of 18.56 mpg
• Roughly 48 gallons of gas consumed
• Average cost of $3.84 a gallon
• Total fuel cost: $182.72
• Highest gas price seen on this leg: $4.05 a gallon in Bolingbrook, Ill. (suburban Chicago)
• Lowest gas price: $3.53 a gallon in Wyethville, Va.

That mileage number makes the Pilot competitive with the other three cars on our vacation, although it clearly had the biggest profile of all four. Only about 80 miles were driven in city traffic, so I didn’t break that mileage out.

Suburban Dad's Vacation Manifesto

A while back, I listed features that every new car should have. Now here’s a list of things that really frost me (and my family) during our trip.

1. Dishonest interstate signs. You know those gas/food/hotel signs that line every interstate in this country? OK, here’s the rule: If a gas station or restaurant wants to be displayed on one of those signs, it has to be no more than a mile in either direction from the exit. No more of that “3.2 miles to the right” baloney. If it can’t be seen from the end of the exit ramp, no dice. I’ve wasted too much gas trying to find these phantom stops.  

Vacation Car Dream Features

After more than 1,500 miles in four different cars, I asked the wife and kids for features they’d like to see automakers add for future road trips. Here are their suggestions (patents pending, of course):

Voice-activated navigation/entertainment options: After getting a taste of this in the Flex, we’d definitely like to see all cars add this functionality. It’s a great way to let drivers keep their focus on the road. Of course, when drivers are trying it out for the first time they may be distracted, but they’ll get used to it. I did.

Chairs that turn into beds: Like the ones the airlines have in first and business class. It would make sleeping more comfortable when you drive overnight.

Little Things Add Up for Honda Pilot

There were no “wow” factors for my family in the 2009 Honda Pilot, but there were a lot of little touches that were noticed and appreciated.

First off, the third row splits 60/40. While that may not seem like a big deal compared to the 50/50 split in the other third rows we tested, it was a huge help. We returned home in a 14-hour trip over two days, and giving the kid in the third row that extra 10% of space made things much more comfortable. In addition, as my 11-year-old pointed out (and his siblings agreed with him), the Pilot had the most legroom of any of the four cars we tested. That meant a lot more peace and quiet for my wife and I up in the front row, I can tell you.

Vacation Bonus: Free Car Wash!

It’s been a great vacation so far, and now I want to share some of that good fortune with you. Actually, it was my bad fortune that could work out for you.

At Cars.com, we like to return our fleet cars filled with gas, and when we travel long distances, we like to also run them through a car wash and vacuum them out. When it was time to trade the CX-9 for the 2009 Honda Pilot, I took the CX-9 to a Texaco on Huffman Mill Road in beautiful Burlington, N.C. I filled it up ($3.79 a gallon) and, when prompted, said yes to a car wash. Oddly enough, the computer didn’t ask me which car wash I wanted, so it charged me for the most expensive wash they offered. Still, with the gas discount, it was only $5.

I drove the CX-9 around to the open door of the car wash, and it was …

In. Pieces.

Mazda CX-9 Packing and Gas Mileage

Three legs down and only one more to go. This was the shortest leg of the four, and the CX-9 fared all right. Packing it was far easier than packing the Journey. First, the damage for Leg 3:

• We drove a total of 495.9 miles, split between 268.5 miles of mostly short trips and 227.4 miles of wide-open interstate driving.
• 8 hours (split over three days) with the wife and three kids
• We averaged 15.61 mpg in short-trip driving, 20.14 mpg on the interstate, and 17.77 mpg overall
• Roughly 28 gallons of gas consumed
• Average cost of $3.79 a gallon
• Total fuel cost of $107.90
• Highest gas price seen on this leg: $4.39 a gallon in Washington, D.C.
• Lowest gas price: $3.49 a gallon in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

The CX-9 wound up with the worst mileage (by far) so far on the trip. The CX-9 certainly felt sprightly, albeit noisy, and felt a lot roomier than the Journey.

As for packing the CX-9, it was much easier than the Journey.

Mazda CX-9 a Little Roomier

While I enjoyed driving the 2009 Dodge Journey from New York down to Burlington, N.C., the kids were a little more, er, compressed. Yes, the Journey has three rows, but it’s a relatively narrow seven-seater, and there’s not a lot of storage space behind the third row.

So when we picked up the CX-9, everyone breathed a little sigh of relief. Part of that was because the CX-9 is a little wider, and more than 6 inches longer. Getting into the back was a little more difficult without the Journey’s easy access lever, but once back there the kids were definitely more comfortable in the CX-9.

Mazda CX-9's Nav System a Mixed Blessing

Starting the third leg of our trip, we headed from Mechanicsburg, Pa., through Gettysburg and down into Washington, D.C., before arriving in Burlington, N.C. The navigation system was crucial for this part of our trip, given that we were driving in an area we’d never driven in before. How’d the CX-9’s nav system perform?

It was a little Jekyll and Hyde. On the positive side, it was a touch-screen, which we at Cars.com always prefer. On the downside, it was apparently in the employ of the oil companies, since it kept sending us in circles (some of which we were able to avoid, some of which we were not) instead of making a left turn. Let me repeat that: The CX-9’s system twice asked us to make a circle — including one that was nearly a mile long — rather than force us to make a left turn. Now, I’ve been driving for nearly 30 years, and I’ve gotten pretty good at those left turns.