I had a 4 cylinder 2004 Kia Optima until just recently and it merged traffic and did just fine . I used a 4 cylinder 1998 GMC Sonoma for courier service and it was fine also . How fast do you need to go on public streets anyway ?
LOL. Exactly Volvo! Today’s 4 cylinders are quite adequate. Yeah, the smooth sense of power, somewhat faster acceleration for passing and merging with a bigger engine may be nice but not a necessity. Now if I were towing anything that would be different. As it is, regrets for not having a 6cyl is mostly my inner Hot Rod Annie personna protesting that staying within speed limits like I habitually do is less tempting to break out and drive dangerously in the 4banger. I have always had practical “boring” cars because on balance those are what I prefer. But now and then I must throttle the urge (pun intended) to wildly fly my buggy like I was a silly teen terrorizing the driver’s ed instructor. A summer of REAL driver’s instruction from my mom cured that idiocy in a hurry. :))
I like the effortless seeming extra power on steep grades,we have a good many around here.
@kmccune. I live in moderately flat country although there is decided moderate hilliness to everyday driving here. So only occasionally does the 4cyl engine have to work hard for a steep grade. If ever I move to an area with prevailing steep terrain I might upgrade back to a 6cyl. I got spoiled driving that 3.8L GM engine for 20 years as well as occasional jaunts in Dad’s 8cyl Grand Marquis. Nice effortless power without strain. Respectable Marnet is obedient to speed limits while the inner Hot Rod Lead Foot Annie periodically wants to play speed demon…but doesn’t.
I occasionally take a trip away from Mayberry and find myself on expressways from Portsmouth Maine to National City California. And in recent years I have driven a Malibu, Yaris, Sonata, Elantra, Rav 4, MR2 and my old S-10 Blazer in all manner of weather and traffic conditions and never felt that I was in danger due to a lack of power. Eighteen wheelers with gross weights over 80,000 pounds are able to merge on to busy interstates without a problem and they likely have a zero to sixty time of a minute. Why do I need 300 horse power?
But luckily I’m in Mayberry most days.
Rod, I absolutely agree that high horsepower isn’t needed but it is FUN. 
That said, I understand your point, agree in principle, and respect your opinion. Please note, while I may WANT powerful ponies and have a controlled desire for speed I also totally want to be a responsible safe driver who never harms anyone or even puts anyone at risk. So I drive carefully and abide by speed limits. Having lost a dear family member to a drunk driver I never ever will allow myself to be reckless or irresponsible in my driving habits.
I just completed a trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to Boise, Idaho to The Dalles, Oregon,'then to Bend, Oregon, Winnemucca, Nevada and back to Salt Lake City. We rented a Hyundai Santa Fe–a 2016 with 200 miles when we started the trip. We had quite a bit of mountain driving and,the 4 cylinder engine handled it well and was quiet. I didn’t choose the vehicle. We reserved a SUV and this was what we,got when we picked up the vehicle at the airport. The acceleration compared favorably with our 4Runner V6 and our Sienna V6. My impression of 4cylinder engines has changed. Thirty five years ago, we rented. a car in Phoenix, AZ and drove to the Grand Canyon. I rented a,Chevy Vega. After that experience, Mrs. Triedaq chooses the,rental car. (Actually, the Vega was kind of fun–it was a 4 speed manual).
@Marnet --,I am just the opposite. I really enjoyed driving the MG Midgets.back in the early. 1970s. Our neighbor sold cars for a dealer that had the MG,and Datsun franchises. This,neighbor was,in the National Guard and had to go to camp one weekend every month. He,would bring me the keys to an MG Midget demonstrator when,he had guard duty and want me to take the MG out for exercise while he was,out of town. He,said that these,MGs,had to be exercised everyday. Being a good neighbor, I fiilfilled his request. For me, it was fun to see how much I,could get from the 56 hp engine with proper use of the gears. To me, this is fun driving.
I hadn’t considered a 4cyl until I had a Camry rental a few years ago while the hanger queen Impala was being repaired from the road hazard damage. I was very pleasently surprised. And when I test drove lots of cars with various engines and transmissions last year I realized how improved 4cyls are over the hamster powered version in my 1973 Corolla years ago.
Had I need for a full sized car or SUV I would have gotten a 6cyl but I truly don’t need that much vehicle. My Camry actually has better back seat legroom and ease of access and egress than most larger vehicles I looked at. And, to the disbelief of many friends, the very generous trunk has more everyday cargo space than even most mid-sized SUVs with their rear seats upright. Sure, I can’t load really tall and/or hugely bulky cargo in a sedan trunk but then I cannot handle most items that size and bulk to load and unload by myself. But on occasion when doing mega stock up shopping I have been able easily to pack six 21 pound bags of cat litter, four cases of cat food and a dozen full paper grocery bags and several big jugs of laundry supplies, all in the trunk with rear seats in place and nothing having to go on inside floorboards or seats.
@Tridaq. Oh that sounds like fun! I never learned to drive a manual. Due to early onset arthritis, I always have chosen an automatic and, once I could afford to upgrade from the '73 Corolla, a mid-sized car for comfort. But I have always thought it would have been fun to drive a lively roadster on a winding road.
Although nowhere near the fun a performance car would be, it was fun to take that 3.8L GM engine for outings on such roads. The Ciera’s suspension was the limiting factor.
I learned from Mom to listen to the engine and feel how the car responds and adjust gas pedal throttle control to affect shift points even on automatic transmissions. As a result, I have always averaged good gas mileage while usually outpacing cars with bigger engines starting out from stop lights without my flooring it or racing. I simply achieve smoother moderate acceleration. The advent of drive by wire has changed throttle response from what I was used to but I adapted and still get pretty good rsults.
It is good fun to achieve smooth performance shifting. Just wish my hands would have tolerated a lively manual shift in the early years of driving.
Ain’t it grand! If I had the financial resources/ didn’t need to work, most of my life would be a road trip. Get a pickup truck with a slide in camper OR a class “B” motorhome, hook a small boat on the back, and explore all the hi-ways & bi-ways of America, the museums, natural wonders, lakes, bays, rivers, roadside attractions. Oh boy! Nothing better (to me) than a road trip!
@“Ed Frugal” Yes!
The two successive summers spent taking my mom on driving trips out west were such a delight. And it isn’t just the major attractions that make such a trip worthwhile. Just seeing the landscape, meeting interesting people, getting off the beaten path, seeing an accumulation of less known sights, etc all add up to satisfying fun.
@“Ed Frugal” I am more frugal than you are. Years ago, as a single dad, money was tight. However, I bought a cheap tent at a discount store and a Coleman stove. I had a couple of sleeping bags. We could get all of this and a $5_Styrofoam cooler in the trunk of the old Oldsmobile I owned and,we would pick a state park here,in Indiana and go camping. When the present Mrs. Triedaq joined us, we saved our money and took a,camping trip through New Mexico and Colorado. We still used the same equipment. Our son is now 41. He takes the same kind of camping trips with his family.
Yeah, I’ve done the tent camping, but I’m getting older and less agile. A little motorhome or truck camper would be ideal for me I think (haven’t bought one yet.) Mainly I want an air-conditioned place to sleep, and a guaranteed clean toilet when needed. When my father retired he bought a coachmen motorhome (of course gas was 99c a gallon back then) and I still remember those days fondly. No better way to “camp”. Like a miniature house on wheels, even had its own generator.
Of course the purists will say that’s not really camping. Roast marshmallows over a campfire, then go inside the air conditioned box, microwave some pizza rolls, watch some tv, and go to bed.
For me, I’d like to tow a boat, so a camping trailer wouldn’t work because you can’t pull a “triple” down most highways (and that would be dangerous anyway). Haven’t figured out how I’m going to pay for it all yet. In each of the past 3 years I’ve been diagnosed with a new pre-existing condition and I am realizing that I, too, shall die someday and I should enjoy some of what I’ve built while I’m still here. The ANTICIPATION of thinking about fun things to do in the future can keep a person going through dark days.
Oh man, not tents. When we were first married, I took my half of my Army pup tent (shelter half) and borrowed the other half for the weekend. We camped out by the lake and fished for supper. We didn’t catch anything and I’ve never been able to spend a full night in one of those claustrophobic tents. We never did it again, but did by a pop up camper later in life that was fun.
I am still crazy enough to sleep out in a tent, but Mrs. Triedaq prefers camping out in Marriott and Hampton Inn hotels. It broke my heart to finally admit that the tent I bought at a discount store for less than $50 had too many holes to patch and the $5 Styrofoam cooler had served its purpose, so I had to put both out for the trash. The best father’s day present I ever received was this past June when my son gave me a coffee cup filled with slips of paper. Each slip had an event that we had done together and many of them were about our camping experiences together in the state parks. One thing is certain–it doesn’t take much money to have memorable experiences where the memories last a,lifetime.
To me “roughing it” means sleeping at any hotel less than a Marriot. If the desk clerk’s first question is “do you drive a truck?”, I look elsewhere.
mountainbike
So, by your definition, Motel 6 and econolodge would be “roughing it” . . . ?!
Yeah if they don’t have breakfast in the morning and coffee on at night, I don’t go there. Life is too short. We also had kind of a bed bug scare in Italy so I’m not into scrimping on maintenance.
we had to make last minute reservations, no pool,no free breakfast, missing oj in the morning, but an honor system snack shop with yogurt and oatmeal, free coffee at least, coffee was an important thing in the morning. missed the other amenities, wife and I love 24 hour pool and whirlpool and sauna!