Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Driving and riding in Hua Hin and Thailand, all topics on cars, pickups, bikes, boats, licenses, roads, and motoring in general.
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Terry
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by Terry »

Try out the Honda C-RV.
If you have up to 2M to spend then the 2.4 Petrol AWD is WELL worth the 1.6M
I traded in my 2.4 Accord last year for the new C-RV (I got too many speeding tickets in the Accord...........)

Runs on ANY petrol, but I use E20 available anywhere. Get 12Km /l regularly
Packed full of safety features, countless airbags, cameras and a good build quality
Honda service in Hua Hin excellent.

Now has 7 seats albeit not as big as the pickup based MUX's, Fortuners, Pajero Sports, & Everests. But PLENTY of room for 4 adults + baggage etc. And drives a whole lot better - it's not a pickup..............

Or try the smaller H-RV

Mrs.T has a Captiva - another great car, versatile, roomy - but at the end of the day a Chev

If you want a drive / looksy - come over to the Lodge
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by caller »

I got a pick up because they're cheaper than an SUV, but still give me the height on longer journey's to see well ahead and behind, are big and well made and a better option in flooding, not to mention the poor state of many roads, which they cope with better than small cars.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by StevePIraq »

First thing I would say is do you want petrol, dirty diesel or hybrid, select the fuel then go and try them all out.
SUV's do have good safety features but then again so do sedans. SUVs will generally roll easier if hit from the side or at an angle. Then of course there is the smoothness of the ride. Sedans and SUV's give good ride, pickups in my opinion are just small trucks, much better than they used to be but still developed from the same platform and so are more industrial, but also very hardy.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by Dannie Boy »

Terry wrote: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:19 pm Try out the Honda C-RV.
If you have up to 2M to spend then the 2.4 Petrol AWD is WELL worth the 1.6M
I traded in my 2.4 Accord last year for the new C-RV (I got too many speeding tickets in the Accord...........)

Runs on ANY petrol, but I use E20 available anywhere. Get 12Km /l regularly
Packed full of safety features, countless airbags, cameras and a good build quality
Honda service in Hua Hin excellent.

Now has 7 seats albeit not as big as the pickup based MUX's, Fortuners, Pajero Sports, & Everests. But PLENTY of room for 4 adults + baggage etc. And drives a whole lot better - it's not a pickup..............

Or try the smaller H-RV

Mrs.T has a Captiva - another great car, versatile, roomy - but at the end of the day a Chev

If you want a drive / looksy - come over to the Lodge
I would agree that the Honda CRV would be on my list of cars to check out if I was in the market to buy a vehicle today - other than it being a safe car, with the ability to fit up to 7 people (I think the last row of seats would suit children more than adults), it’s also a fine looking car.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by handdrummer »

Safest vehicle for Thailand? A Panzer.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by RCer »

Terry wrote: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:19 pm Try out the Honda C-RV.
If you have up to 2M to spend then the 2.4 Petrol AWD is WELL worth the 1.6M
I traded in my 2.4 Accord last year for the new C-RV (I got too many speeding tickets in the Accord...........)

Runs on ANY petrol, but I use E20 available anywhere. Get 12Km /l regularly
Packed full of safety features, countless airbags, cameras and a good build quality
Honda service in Hua Hin excellent.

Now has 7 seats albeit not as big as the pickup based MUX's, Fortuners, Pajero Sports, & Everests. But PLENTY of room for 4 adults + baggage etc. And drives a whole lot better - it's not a pickup..............

Or try the smaller H-RV

Mrs.T has a Captiva - another great car, versatile, roomy - but at the end of the day a Chev

If you want a drive / looksy - come over to the Lodge
We'd love to check out the H-RV. We have a City now that will be replaced.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by mudcat »

I would second the recommendation for the Honda 7-seat CRV. Haven't looked but their smaller BRV does a good job of folding the two rear rows of seat down f;at to allow loading of larger purchases. We live up-country and have one of the orphan Chevrolet Spins - bought it for its seven-seat configuration as I see too many pickups with the family in the rear up here and didn't want to need to say no when there is always room for another.

When looking try to get an idea of your and your wife's eye-height while in the driving seat to compare the most important safety feature - watching what the other drivers are up to.

Check this forum for dealer and manufacturer discussions, it seems that Honda keeps their dealers on the straight and narrow, but some of the others seem to lack after-market support.

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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by Nereus »

Here is a new one. Not on sale yet in Thailand according to this, but I think that it will be on display at the upcoming motor show. Another point to consider: front wheel drive, rear wheel or 4 wheel. I dislike front wheel drive cars per se, as I find them "twitchy" and tend to over steer very badly.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by RCer »

Terry wrote: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:19 pm Try out the Honda C-RV.
If you have up to 2M to spend then the 2.4 Petrol AWD is WELL worth the 1.6M
I traded in my 2.4 Accord last year for the new C-RV (I got too many speeding tickets in the Accord...........)

Runs on ANY petrol, but I use E20 available anywhere. Get 12Km /l regularly
Packed full of safety features, countless airbags, cameras and a good build quality
Honda service in Hua Hin excellent.

Now has 7 seats albeit not as big as the pickup based MUX's, Fortuners, Pajero Sports, & Everests. But PLENTY of room for 4 adults + baggage etc. And drives a whole lot better - it's not a pickup..............

Or try the smaller H-RV

Mrs.T has a Captiva - another great car, versatile, roomy - but at the end of the day a Chev

If you want a drive / looksy - come over to the Lodge
I meant we'd love to check out the C-RV.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by RCer »

The reason the trucks and SUVs based on them have a bad ride and poor handling is Thailsnd's insistence on a leaf spring rear suspension.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by Ginjaninja »

StevePIraq wrote: Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:03 am First thing I would say is do you want petrol, dirty diesel or hybrid, select the fuel then go and try them all out.
SUV's do have good safety features but then again so do sedans. SUVs will generally roll easier if hit from the side or at an angle. Then of course there is the smoothness of the ride. Sedans and SUV's give good ride, pickups in my opinion are just small trucks, much better than they used to be but still developed from the same platform and so are more industrial, but also very hardy.
Steve,
My logic was always to put safety over what type of fuel the car uses or how good the fuel economy. I can appreciate diesel has gained a bad reputation for being dirty however I thought the newer cars had quite good particle filters now...?
Do you want to elaborate more?

Appreciate everyone's responses so far. Some excellent information.. helps me a great deal.

Unfortunately I won't make the motorshow as I'm currently working in Kuwait (and gagging for a beer).

Cheers,
GN.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by Nereus »

There is a post about particulate filters, also Adblue. But Thailand is not leading the way with emission controls!
The latest Land Rover diesels are imported without the Adblue systems in place, although some of them are fitted with DPF filters, which present their own set of problems.

viewtopic.php?f=44&t=35917
Unfortunately I won't make the motorshow as I'm currently working in Kuwait (and gagging for a beer).
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by STEVE G »

For something different, I believe the Toyota CHR is being launched in Thailand soon. It's another small SUV, with a hybrid drive which would make driving in traffic very easy. I've just started seeing them here in Europe and they have a pretty radical look.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by RCer »

STEVE G wrote: Sat Mar 17, 2018 3:20 pm For something different, I believe the Toyota CHR is being launched in Thailand soon. It's another small SUV, with a hybrid drive which would make driving in traffic very easy. I've just started seeing them here in Europe and they have a pretty radical look.
It's been launched. I drove one today in Pranburi.

Very, very, good looking. Reasonable power (it's no Hemi). Comfortable for me, but remember, I'm small by farang standards. Handles solidly. Reasonably quiet, it has road noise, mostly air. Dual temp controls.

Not a lot of interior space. No power driver's seat.

Top price is 1,159,000B.
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Re: Which car would you feel safest in Thailand

Post by Dannie Boy »

RCer wrote: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:34 pm
STEVE G wrote: Sat Mar 17, 2018 3:20 pm For something different, I believe the Toyota CHR is being launched in Thailand soon. It's another small SUV, with a hybrid drive which would make driving in traffic very easy. I've just started seeing them here in Europe and they have a pretty radical look.
It's been launched. I drove one today in Pranburi.

Very, very, good looking. Reasonable power (it's no Hemi). Comfortable for me, but remember, I'm small by farang standards. Handles solidly. Reasonably quiet, it has road noise, mostly air. Dual temp controls.

Not a lot of interior space. No power driver's seat.

Top price is 1,159,000B.
I had one as a hire car in the UK at Christmas, it was brand new with just 10 miles on the speedo when I collected it - the model I drove was a 1.2 liter petrol turbo, not a hybrid. Performance was reasonable and didn’t feel underpowered but it was a bit cramped in the back and the view out of the rear window was not very good - although it made up for that with an excellent rear camera for when parking.

On balance, not a car I would recommend and certainly not over a Honda but the HVR is probably closer in size and price than the CVR ( which I’ve never driven, just looked at).
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