u/skipphead

After a LOT of research I finally got my first plug-in vehicle, a 2013 Outlander and I'm very much enjoying it.

I actually got it a month ago, but couldn't get the electrician to install the outlet until this week so now I'm actually enjoying the benefits.

I upgraded from a 1996 Jimny that I absolutely loved, but it was too small for my lifestyle and had severe rust problems to the point it would take more money than it's worth to fix than it's worth.

The newest car I've ever owned was from 1999 and I've been driving the Jimny for 8 years and it was old fashioned when I got it so clearly I can live without any gizmos and gadgets.

Here is why I got this particular model:

• I am on a tight budget. Pretty sure I'm in a different tax bracket than most people here.
• I needed something that can handle steep hills with snow. AWD is a hard requirement and even something like a Prius would probably struggle so I'm essentially limited to a SUV.
• My daily commute is 12 km, and if I go shopping and take the scenic route, it becomes maybe 20. Comfortably in all EV range.
• I also needed something shorter than 1700mm. I have a short (by modern standards) garage.
• I have solar panels so something that could be changed would save me money for sure.

The AWD requirement, budget, and height restriction really limited my options and knocked any BEVs off my list. Even 2015+ Outlanders grew to 1710 or even bigger. It was essentially the Outlander, Eclipse Cross, or a ICE or hybrid Subaru or something. I test drove an Eclipse Cross PHEV and actually quite liked it but it would have been at bare minimum twice what I paid and I would have had to take out a loan and I did not like it twice as much. The extra space in the Outlander already has come in handy.

I'm genuinely surprised how much I like it. I loved the Jimny and held on to it much longer than I should have because it was such a fun car (unless I needed to go on the highway, then it was terrifying). The Outlander was a family oriented logical decision, not a fun one but I'm enjoying driving it more than I thought. Not plugged in, the gas mileage isn't great. Better than the Jimny but not by much which itself should be impressive since it weighs more than twice as much.

So now I'm finally driving my daily trips on electricity. I expect my next vehicle will be a BEV if prices come down and public charging improves (it's not great where I live but slowly changing) but that's 5-10 years down the road. I'm just happy with the Outlander now.

I've been collecting for a while and things picked up after I moved in 2022 and actually had space to store things, so I've been to a lot of Hard Offs and other recycle shops in the last 4 years.

In the last couple years, the ¥100 "junk" bins have shrank significantly and just contained copies of Baseball or other common things I either have or don't care about. Also, most stores moved the default lowest price to ¥300.

But last weekend I found Super Star Force in a ¥100 bin. It was actually on my list so of course I snapped it up. I genuinely won't be surprised if it's the last one at this price.

Sadly I am going to get rid of my beloved Jimny soon. It wasn't an easy decision but I'm swapping it for an older Outlander PHEV because the Jimny has some severe rust issues and won't pass the next inspection, plus it's just too small to be the only car in the family and owning two cars doesn't make sense.

but I can't help notice how different the communities are. Outlander people are taking about the latest models, gas mileage, and complaining about features 90% of drivers have never heard of.

Jimny drivers are posting beauty pictures, talking about mods to cars that are decades old, and repeatedly saying "this is the worst car for so many reasons but I love it."

I'm going to miss this beast.

Above is a picture from 7 years ago when it was glorious.

I spend more money than I should. Hard Offs in the country are just better than ones in the city and I over buy because of it.