Context: I was shopping for a practical and relatively efficient family car for my parents and myself. Need AWD for ski trips, Caltrans make your life hard without it. Has to be "SUV", because the parents insist. Needs to be newer and have lane keep assist because I get extremely tired driving on longer trips.
After a lot of frustration looking for a used car, I discovered that you really can still buy Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus at MSRP (less than a 3 year old used car
) if you are willing to wait a few months, and better yet they have subsidized financing!
I just ordered a 2022 CR-V AWD with 0 down 2.9% APR
(thanks for eating inflation, Honda+Fed)
-1.5L turbo engine pushes a mighty 190hp on 91 octane fuel but a little outdated compared to Toyota, Mazda
-CVT, so car should not run rich unless it's floored and revving all the way out (will need to verify this)
-Relatively lightweight at a bit under 3600lbs, that's actually lighter than my Aston Martin
-32 mpg EPA highway suggests reasonably low drag despite the boxy shape
-Not a great AWD system, transmission is transverse FWD so the rear is driven through a spiral bevel gear reducing efficiency a little
Ecomodding ideas:
-Switch the rear o2 sensor for a few % lean bias since the car doesn't have high volume EGR (probably shouldn't flash the ECU, since it's under warranty)
-Strap a huge cardboard box (box cavity) to the back for long trips at higher speed
-Tire fairings?
-Extra thin diff oil in the rear, since it's rarely powered? No idea what viscosity Honda uses, but I know Redline MT-LV 70w-75 is thin, there's also LV ATFs. Maybe this can be blended with original Honda fluid? Maybe underfill by a small amount? These are admittedly crazy ideas...
Any more ideas?