The Best Car Or SUV In Hungary An American Wouldn't Really Know About?

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Misread your question my first time around answering.
You can find Skoda, Lada, Seat brand cars here, not sure how good they are.
Renault cars used to be found in the US but I don't think they import them any longer.
Many cars here have small engines, would not be allowed for import in the US.
My in-laws had a Lada in commie days, bought it brand new after waiting the 5 years for deliver after already paying for it in cash .Couldn't even chose the color, they got whatever color and car came out of the truck when it was their turn.
That car lasted them for years, sort of funky though.
I like Alfa's had one in Calif. not sure how reliable the newer models are these days. Mine was a dream to drive, when it was running...One little screw not tight enough and the car would not start, too sensitive for an everyday car.When it was running, it was really fun to drive.

Thank you.
Yes, sports cars and higher end cars can be a pain. I've had a few H1 hummers (not the H2 soccer mom car) and even though they are super tough they can be finicky about what goes wrong with them.

What it looks like I'm leaning towards at this moment would be a Honda CRV all wheel drive. They have lots of them there so parts and resale should be ok. They are good running cars that you can get 200K miles out of without too many challenges.

Patrick

good morning

a tardy response, i know .....

as a time-served mechanic, there is a lot i can discuss with you, if you still need some advice .....

too much to clutter a page like this, but a few generalisations ....

4x4 is NOT a guarantee of grip in snow - GOOD snow tyres on a 2wd car will leave a 4x4 on normal tyres for dead ..

a 4x4 on winter tyres however will change the way you view grip & safety for ever ..... i had a Subaru Impreza in the UK on winter tyres, and when the snow came, i could go anywhere, anytime - and steer / stop safely too

i LOVE Landrover products - they make me & other mechanics lots of money ...... unreliability is sadly a common trait - HOWEVER, if you buy a used one that has had all the regular faults rectified, you are laughing ..... SO, in my most cynical mode, NOTHING that has been used and 'maintained' in Hungary     but clearly, a German or Austrian import will tend to be correctly & completely maintained, more so than anything from Eastern Europe .......

if you need to chat, give me a ring / text / email

Toby
**

Angolhapsi wrote:

good morning

a tardy response, i know .....

as a time-served mechanic, there is a lot i can discuss with you, if you still need some advice .....

too much to clutter a page like this, but a few generalisations ....

4x4 is NOT a guarantee of grip in snow - GOOD snow tyres on a 2wd car will leave a 4x4 on normal tyres for dead ..

a 4x4 on winter tyres however will change the way you view grip & safety for ever ..... i had a Subaru Impreza in the UK on winter tyres, and when the snow came, i could go anywhere, anytime - and steer / stop safely too

i LOVE Landrover products - they make me & other mechanics lots of money ...... unreliability is sadly a common trait - HOWEVER, if you buy a used one that has had all the regular faults rectified, you are laughing ..... SO, in my most cynical mode, NOTHING that has been used and 'maintained' in Hungary     but clearly, a German or Austrian import will tend to be correctly & completely maintained, more so than anything from Eastern Europe .......

if you need to chat, give me a ring / text / email

Toby
0036705246083
[email protected]

Thank you for your reply.

I don't have my heart set on any particular vehicle make or model.
A Subaru Impreza wagon would be just fine with me.

Yes, Of course it would go without saying that I would have great snow tires.
I'm just looking for the best modestly priced vehicles that will do well in all the driving conditions that we will encounter there.

Thank you, Patrick

Angolhapsi wrote:

i had a Subaru Impreza in the UK on winter tyres, and when the snow came, i could go anywhere, anytime - and steer / stop safely too

I concur with that. I had a Subaru Impreza in Switzerland (living in a small village in the Alps) on winter tires, and when the snow came, I also could go anywhere, anytime. Great little car. A fun car to drive. Handled very well, and even handled better in the snow than my Jeep Cherokee I had back in the States.

But.... (yes the "but") Subarus are not that common in Hungary and mechanics may not know what to do with them or be able to get parts for them easily.

When we were still living in Switzerland and driving here to Hungary many times a year, our little Impreza started making a horrible rattle in Hungary when I braked. Took it to local mechanics here in Hungary and most had no idea what the problem was and one even said the sound was "normal". Ended up putting the car on the auto train back to Switzerland (not wanting to drive it all the way back as I did not know if it was safe to drive with that sound) and had our Swiss mechanic take a look at it. He had the problem diagnosed in a few minutes and fixed within half an hour (one of the hangers on the muffler had broken off -- just needed to be re-welded).

We ended up selling our Subaru Impreza before moving to Hungary (too difficult and expensive to import it). I still miss that little car.

Angolhapsi wrote:

...... - GOOD snow tyres on a 2wd car will leave a 4x4 on normal tyres for dead ..

a 4x4 on winter tyres however will change the way you view grip & safety for ever ..... i had a Subaru Impreza in the UK on winter tyres, and when the snow came, i could go anywhere, anytime - and steer / stop safely too...

Real snow tyres (with studs) are unnecessary in Hungary. In my experience it's never that bad in HU.  We carry snow chains for those very rare times it really snows and gets compacted  I've only used them about 3 times in 20 years..  Once you get to a main road, it will almost certainly be clear.

If one buys a set of winter tyres you can leave them on all year.  There will be a marginal increase in fuel consumption but one saves on rims and on tyres. On the other hand, It's worth considering steel rims for the winter set as the thickened compressed ice will smash up aluminium wheels.

BTW, if you travel internationally, while HU does not have compulsory winter tyres, Austria does and they do check. If there's an accident, the person without the winter tyres is automatically assumed to be responsible. Even though Germany does not have mandatory winter tyres, there's an insurance liability issue which means effectively that winter tyres are mandatory in Germany too.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Angolhapsi wrote:

...... - GOOD snow tyres on a 2wd car will leave a 4x4 on normal tyres for dead ..

a 4x4 on winter tyres however will change the way you view grip & safety for ever ..... i had a Subaru Impreza in the UK on winter tyres, and when the snow came, i could go anywhere, anytime - and steer / stop safely too...

Real snow tyres (with studs) are unnecessary in Hungary. In my experience it's never that bad in HU.  We carry snow chains for those very rare times it really snows and gets compacted  I've only used them about 3 times in 20 years..  Once you get to a main road, it will almost certainly be clear.

If one buys a set of winter tyres you can leave them on all year.  There will be a marginal increase in fuel consumption but one saves on rims and on tyres. On the other hand, It's worth considering steel rims for the winter set as the thickened compressed ice will smash up aluminium wheels.

BTW, if you travel internationally, while HU does not have compulsory winter tyres, Austria does and they do check. If there's an accident, the person without the winter tyres is automatically assumed to be responsible. Even though Germany does not have mandatory winter tyres, there's an insurance liability issue which means effectively that winter tyres are mandatory in Germany too.

Great information, thanks.
I had never considered leaving winter tires on all year long. I'll look into that.

When I grew up in heavy snow in northern Wyoming we all had steel rims. I'm not sure they had anything else back then.

Enfusia wrote:

I had never considered leaving winter tires on all year long. I'll look into that.

Well, you can leave on winter tires all year, but expert opinion is to not leave winter tires on all year for many reason:

http://www.cartalk.com/blogs/dear-car-t … year-roundhttp://www.wheels.ca/news/can-i-leave-w … ear-round/

After switching to warm weather tires I can really tell the difference in driving. Driving is much more enjoyable and fun with the correct tires. And one should rotate tires anyway, so switching to or from winter tires gets two jobs done at once. Every local mechanic whom I have taken the car in to switch the tires for the season will mark were the last set were and rotate them when they go back on in 6 months or so.

klsallee wrote:

Well, you can leave on winter tires all year, but expert opinion is to not leave winter tires on all year for many reason.... rotate them when they go back on in 6 months or so.

I think we have to distinguish between real snow tyres and winter tyres. 

The former are unlikely to be very good in the summer but the winter tyres of the type found in HU are only a bit different from normal road tyres.  They have more "sipes" and a chunky'ier (if that's a word) tread.  The sipes (channels) help get rid of water and reduce stopping distance. The tread gives more grip and lose conditions.  Obviously it's all a compromise.  It's not really a problem to drive around in winter tyres (HU style winter anyway). Lots of people do it around the Austrian border area simply because the Austrians can be officious about it and no-one wants to fined for forgetting to change them over (dates are usually April 15th - winter tyres off the car, October 15th - on the car).

Rotating is a good idea to even up wear but I can never remember which was where, so  I just look at the tyres now, think about the tread depth and decide which are the best ones and put those on the front (I have front wheel drive and surprisingly, front wheel steering...that's a joke btw).

klsallee wrote:

Enfusia wrote:

I had never considered leaving winter tires on all year long. I'll look into that.

Well, you can leave on winter tires all year, but expert opinion is to not leave winter tires on all year for many reason:

http://www.cartalk.com/blogs/dear-car-t … year-roundhttp://www.wheels.ca/news/can-i-leave-w … ear-round/

After switching to warm weather tires I can really tell the difference in driving. Driving is much more enjoyable and fun with the correct tires. And one should rotate tires anyway, so switching to or from winter tires gets two jobs done at once. Every local mechanic whom I have taken the car in to switch the tires for the season will mark were the last set were and rotate them when they go back on in 6 months or so.

Pardon for my ignorance. I have been living in Florida too long.

When you have winter and summer tires do you have 2 sets of rims or do they swap the tires out only?

Thanks, Patrick

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

Well, you can leave on winter tires all year, but expert opinion is to not leave winter tires on all year for many reason.... rotate them when they go back on in 6 months or so.

I think we have to distinguish between real snow tyres and winter tyres. 

The former are unlikely to be very good in the summer but the winter tyres of the type found in HU are only a bit different from normal road tyres.  They have more "sipes" and a chunky'ier (if that's a word) tread.  The sipes (channels) help get rid of water and reduce stopping distance. The tread gives more grip and lose conditions.  Obviously it's all a compromise.  It's not really a problem to drive around in winter tyres (HU style winter anyway). Lots of people do it around the Austrian border area simply because the Austrians can be officious about it and no-one wants to fined for forgetting to change them over (dates are usually April 15th - winter tyres off the car, October 15th - on the car).

Rotating is a good idea to even up wear but I can never remember which was where, so  I just look at the tyres now, think about the tread depth and decide which are the best ones and put those on the front (I have front wheel drive and surprisingly, front wheel steering...that's a joke btw).

Why would fromt wheel drive and steering be a joke, I 'm not following you there?

Enfusia wrote:

...

When you have winter and summer tires do you have 2 sets of rims or do they swap the tires out only?

Thanks, Patrick

Usually it's two sets of rims complete with tyres.  In HU, winter tyres are not compulsory.  People who do have winter tyres have steel rims (for reasons mentioned) or if they are like me, they get a complete set of the same rims on Ebay (or local equivalent, vatera or expresz.hu) and buy another set of tyres to go with them. You can store your winter tyres at some tyre places if you have not got storage - they call them tyre hotels. I keep mine in my garage stacked on a special wheeled trolley I made myself!

fluffy2560 wrote:

winter tyres of the type found in HU are only a bit different from normal road tyres.  They have more "sipes" and a chunky'ier (if that's a word) tread.  The sipes (channels) help get rid of water and reduce stopping distance. The tread gives more grip and lose conditions.

A bit more to it than that. Think chemistry. Winter tires are made off different rubber, specifically designed for colder weather, which improves traction on cold roads. This improves not only driving but also breaking (less likely to start sliding). But that same winter rubber becomes too soft on hot summer roads and wears out faster and decreases driving performance.

Because real men drive rear-whee drive!

Not really (but actually, yes). Forward-wheel drive (FWD) is easier (and thus safer) to handle in general since it's a lot more difficult to oversteer and slip the rear wheels. Rear-wheel drive (RWD) can be more difficult and dangerous to drive, depending on the vehicle, tires, and available safety nannies (ABS, ESC, EBC, ABC, WTF, etc.). Again, a car is a tool, and thus an expression of the driver's abilities to control it. I drove a 17-year old BMW 3-series (RWD) with old tires in the States (Mid-Atlantic) for the last 3 years (remember the record breaking cold recently?). I had NO issues driving that car, simply because I'm an alert driver, understand my vehicle, and know know my limits and the car's. Needless to say, I had lots of close calls. Most of them fun and my own stupidity. My wife and I shared a Hyundai Elantra (FWD), and for my life I could not make that car slide, skid, barrel-roll or do anything unsafe. It had very predictable behavior, good brakes, good tires, thus making it safe.

I was thinking I should go look up the compound differences between summer and winter tires because I thought I remembered a compositional difference as well.

It has been a long time so I couldn't quite recall.

Enfusia wrote:

I was thinking I should go look up the compound differences between summer and winter tires because I thought I remembered a compositional difference as well.

It has been a long time so I couldn't quite recall.

I wouldn't worry about it because at the end of the day, you can only buy what is available.  The weather is not extreme in HU. The lowest temperature I've seen is -20 C and that's very rare and out in the sticks. Temperatures over 40 C are not uncommon during the summer.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I wouldn't worry about it because at the end of the day, you can only buy what is available.

True. Too true. Too painfully true.

Constantly mind boggling what is not available in Hungary. And even if it is available elsewhere in the EU, the seller may not ship to Hungary. Can be quite frustrating at times.