Bigger is not better, says me!

One thing about me that you need to know is that I am always in the mood for car shopping. 24/7. 365 days a year.

My last car purchase was 2 years and 5 months ago. Before I drove the car off the lot I was already thinking what would our next car be. I just can't help myself. I love "window shopping" for cars. Honestly I don't even care if I am shopping for myself or others. Give me a reason, need not be a good one, and I will be in front of a computer all over car websites like flies on dung.

One of the quests I am on right now is to find a replacement for my 2003 Toyota RAV4. Our requirements are simple:

• It should have similar capacity as our RAV4, which has yet to disappoint us in its ability to swallow anything we threw at it - bookshelves, leather couches, 600 lbs of gym equipments, home appliances, etc.
• But not too long or too big, Amy afraid she won't be able to handle it
• Doors must be lower to the ground than the RAV, because as our dogs gets older, we won't want them to jump too high to get in and out of the car. We will prefer to have them walk up to car, and walk off from it.

We liked the new Toyota Venza, because it nearly fitted all of our requirements. The car was roomy, lower entrance than an SUV, powerful but efficient 3.5 litre v6 engine, etc. But my interest in the car was unexpectedly turned off by the most unlikely reason - the tire size. Why on the god's green earth would Toyota put a set of freaking 20" tires on a family crossover? I didn't think Sportiness was being one of its main selling features. Was it designed to be a trendy car for youngsters to drive around town and get noticed? I seriously doubt that because if I was 10 years younger I wouldn't want to get caught in that. Or was it because some panel studies suggested that 20" was the way to go? Why wasn't I in that panel to suggest otherwise?

Make no mistake, Toyota has always been a dull brand. Reliable, but dull as a butter knife. The lackluster appeal to younger generations is partially attributed to the boring design, but more to the point is the uncharacteristic driving dynamic that can put granny to sleep. But I don't care. Venza is supposed to be functional and practical, not sporty or flamboyant. Putting 20" tires in all corners does not transform the car into an exciting beast. I really don't see how the extra inches in the tire size can accomplish anything other than stiffing consumers with extra expenses. I am a chicken and I need my snow tires in winter even when I am driving an all-wheel-drive vehicle. You just can't be too safe, you know. Do you know how much it would cost to get a set of 20" SNOW TIRES? It is $500 more expensive than the 18" variant of the same brand! And if you want to save that $500, you will have to first invest money on a set of 18" steel rims. Do they even have 18" steel rims? And let's not even start to think about summer tires.

I must be fair in my complain, Toyota is not the only company that is supersizing its tire selections, the new Mercedez Benz GLK also wears 20" slippers.

May be it is the way to go. A decade or two ago, 14" was the norm. So may be in one day 20" will become a new standard. But in order for that to happen, the tire industry will have to first make those supersized tires affordable. Until then, Venza is benched.