<p>We owned a CRV once. That’s not very impressive mileage for a vehicle in that class. I now have an 04 Volvo V70 with about 140K miles on it. It’s a bigger, more comfortable vehicle that gets me ~30MPG. Of course, the newer models have uselessly bigger engines and lower mileage to satisfy the American market.</p>
<p>I don’t know why there isn’t more demand here for better fuel economy. In Europe half the cars have diesel engines. Much better MPG, more durable, more torque, more fun to drive.</p>
<p>I guess no one has paint protection. Thanks anyway. The car prices went up April 1st. CR-V was up 400 dollars.Got one that was delivered on March 30th,so didn"t pay extra money. Heard the Malibu went up 600 dollars.</p>
<p>tk, that was my quote on the gas mileage and it still holds. It’s also why I’ve tested the Insight and will likely purchase one in the next couple of months. I commute ~90 miles each day to work and finally need to reduce gas costs. We will however keep the 2008 CR-V for snow days and ditch the 1999 CR-V as soon as it doesn’t pass emissions inspections and needs costly repairs.</p>
<p>tk21769, is your 2004 V70 different from the U.S. model that is EPA rated 18 mpg city/ 25 mpg highway (20 mpg combined) on premium gas? 30 mpg would be surprising with that model. </p>
<p>We have a 2009 CRV, very happy with it, but you are right - fuel economy with a 4 cyl engine is not that great. 28 or so on the highway.</p>
I know one person who got the ‘paint protection’ on a Toyota and whatever the dealer had put on it ended up damaging the paint and the entire car needed to be repainted after only a few years.</p>
<p>Don’t get so-called ‘paint protection’ - it’s a waste of money, useless, especially since all cars come with a clear coat now, and has the possibility of causing actual damage to the car. Don’t get ANY dealer add-ons - they’re all a waste of money. If after getting the car you decide you really want whatever the thing would be then find a provider and have them do it and you’ll save money and at least know more about what you’re getting. But really, almost all of these types of add-ons, even from the actual provider, are a waste of money and useless.</p>
<p>If you want to protect your paint then do what you can to keep it out of the sun either in a garage or under a car cover and wash and wax it every now and then (wax it 3 - 4 times per year unless it’s kept out of the sun in which case wax it a couple of times per year). There’s no miracle substitute for waxing the car and avoiding the sun. Doing that will keep the paint looking great for more than a dozen years - probably way longer than you’ll keep the car.</p>
<p>Yes - even the new cars, despite the clear coat, need to be waxed to protect them. Waxing a car adequately and shielding it from the sun is the only way to truly protect the finish.</p>
<p>Waxing takes a certain amount of effort to do a decent job but it’s less than an hour a couple of times per year - not a big deal to keep the vehicle looking good. If people don’t want to do it themselves there are plenty of services that’ll do it. Although it seems that neighborhood kids don’t actually work anymore, an enterprising neighbor kid could could earn some decent pocket change washing/waxing cars for neighbors.</p>
<p>Just a regular wax. I use a quality liquid wax that’s easy to apply and remove (by hand - I don’t use the buffer machines). I’ve been using Mother’s wax for a while and it seems to work well and is readily available at the auto parts store - </p>