Poll: What is the antithesis of the VX?

[Lisa K]

The GEO!!!

[mbeach]

The RAV4. Especially the 2-door ones. I had a guy(?) driving one give me the thumbs-up the other day. I was afraid to acknowledge him, so I just kept on pickin' my nose.

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

antithesis: The direct or exact opposite...

I think that the direct opposite of the VehiCROSS is the Infinity FX35 (V6)...or FX45 (V8).

The VX is a 2-door, Off-road capable 4X4 with decent street smarts when left stock (no lift).

The FX is a 4-door On-road capable AWD (Car&Driver says almost indistinquishable from Nissan 350Z when behind the wheel) with minimal off-road abilities.

I'd love to own both!

[WyrreJ]

Don't forget the Mojo Nixon definition of antithesis: The Evil Anti-Elvis.

Clearly the evil anti-vx is the hummer-2 - boxy, bulky, strong yuppie appeal, worse gas mileage, even more over-priced, bad on-road handling.

[Heraclid]

I don't know. It's hard to say because there are just so many variables. I think the Suzuki X90 isn't different enough from the VX. It's a 2-door 4WD vehicle that is, by most accounts, fun to drive. But then again some who've had other cars I'm about to list claimed to love 'em too. The FX35 and FX45 have the sporty, bold styling thing in common with the VX. Both are arguably still SUV's.

Yugo... in a head-on with a moped, you'd lose, and it was about the LEAST rugged thing ever put on the road. They did have rear window heat to keep your hands warm while you pushed, though. 0-60 in 14.0 sec, 60-0 braking in something around 200 ft for this car is very unimpressive. 4 cyl, 50 hp. About 30 mpg ain't bad, but it is way worse than it should be for THIS car.

Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift. A whopping 55 hp 3-cyl engine, 45-50 mpg, plain as can be, also a 14 sec car and also a car most everything else would obliterate.

Subaru Justy - pretty pitiful, about 75 hp, but it was available in 4WD...

Ford Explorer - yeah, it's a SUV and all, but when you're this commonplace, this plain-looking and consistently rated one of the worst SUV's for off-road use, you're not anything much like a VX.

The perfect antithesis for the VX probably needs to be...

relatively common
fuel-efficient
very plain-looking
fragile and horrible for off-road use
a car (or car-based/unibody)
a poor-handling vehicle
generally not fun to drive

[Ldub]

Jeez Heraclid, I think you just described my first wifes Ford Granada!

[nocturnalVX]

The perfect antithesis for the VX probably needs to be...

relatively common
fuel-efficient
very plain-looking
fragile and horrible for off-road use
a car (or car-based/unibody)
a poor-handling vehicle
generally not fun to drive

Can you say minivan? I knew you could! They may be truck-based, but otherwise they fit. No-fun, practical, dime-a-dozen vehicles that (even if they came AWD) would not fare well in Moab.

[thebear54]

I voted earlier for the KIA Rio(vote still stands) but...has anyone ever heard of a DAF Daffodil? 2 cylinder, 30 horsepower, 0-60 in (I'll let you do the math , 2 door, automatic/variomatic transmission. I have one: . Luckily it will be only a show car when I get finished, not a daily driver.
John

[Heraclid]

Can you say minivan? I knew you could! They may be truck-based, but otherwise they fit. No-fun, practical, dime-a-dozen vehicles that (even if they came AWD) would not fare well in Moab.

There are several car-based minivans out there. In fact, are there any that aren't? I can't think of one. The Toyota Sienna and Lexus RX300 ride on extended Camry platforms. The Toyota Highlander is basically a larger RX300 underneath the sheetmetal, so the minivan/SUV gene pool starts getting muddy. The Honda Pilot is based on the Odyssey, and the Odyssey rides on an extended Accord platform, etc. etc.

I think if I had to pick a minivan to pick on right now, I'd go with the Ford Freestyle because it's a very half-hearted attempt to sell what is still a Windstar.

Picking a good antithesis for the VX is very subjective. Do you pick something as totally different from a VX in as many ways as possible? Or something similar (or masquerading as similar) that is 180 degrees opposite in philosophy and just aimed in another direction entirely?

A good antithesis for the VX may be something along the lines of a Buick Rendezvous. The Rendezvous is an attempt to merge the minivan with the SUV, and it is basically for people who need a minivan but hate minivans. The MDX and Pilot borrow some from the Odyssey and so on, but the Rendezvous probably has more parts lifted directly from minivans than any other wannabe SUV. Word is that they handle horribly, with lots of body roll, have no road feel, and lots of understeer. The interior materials are lackluster and the seats aren't comfortable. The leather you can get in it as an option is low-grade. It is at best a very average pseudo-SUV, and in this age of crossover cute-utes, it's a bit of an ugly duckling. It is a blood-brother to the Pontiac Aztek, which doesn't help it any. You expect a certain something in a Buick and it falls short, whereas the VX exceeded expectations. You can get it in AWD, but that's not quite the same as 4WD, and it's not even fit for light off-road duty. I think there's a huge contrast in just the image between Buicks and Isuzus, too. Buicks conjure up Park Avenues, Regals... luxury cars that float down the road and are driven pretty much by old folks. Think Isuzu and you think of Amigo, Rodeo, Trooper, VehiCROSS. Rugged vehicles for active people who are young at heart. Very different.