Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
9/24/24 1:07 p.m.

I push down on the gas pedal of the base model Nissan Kicks rental as the incline of the narrow mountain road ahead of me increases beyond anything most Floridians would see in their entire lives.

Despite the audible increase of engine noise, the forward (or, rather, upward) momentum of the Kicks does not increase.

To my right is my wife of …

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J.A. Ackley
J.A. Ackley Senior Editor
9/24/24 2:18 p.m.

Different parts of the world certainly have different styles of driving. Puerto Rico's style sounds a lot like what I saw in Mexico City. Glad you had fun on your vacation. Puerto Rico is definitely on my list of places to visit.

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
9/24/24 3:27 p.m.

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

It has everything that makes the Caribbean such a cool place to visit, but you don't need a passport and everywhere takes the same money you already have in your wallet.

I'd definitely like to learn some conversational Spanish before I go back, though. It didn't feel right having to ask just about everyone I interacted with if they spoke English.

RacerBoy75
RacerBoy75 Reader
9/24/24 3:29 p.m.

I had a Nissan Kicks for our trip to Costa Rica last July, and it was a total dog. It was a case of a semi-decent car being let down by it's truly horrible CVT. It would probably be fine in Florida because it's completely flat, but any place with hills, let alone steep hills, and you are constantly fighting the thing. A very fine line between lugging the engine trying to get up the hill, or ending up full throttle and the CVT finally selecting a shorter ratio and it being too much. No in-between!

Going downhill was also bad, no engine braking possible, so you end up riding the brakes constantly.

Glad you enjoyed Puerto Rico, I'm guessing it's similar to Costa Rica in that it's beautiful, tropical, and driving is always an adventure.

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
9/24/24 3:33 p.m.
RacerBoy75 said:

Glad you enjoyed Puerto Rico, I'm guessing it's similar to Costa Rica in that it's beautiful, tropical, and driving is always an adventure.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. smiley

bmw88rider
bmw88rider GRM+ Memberand UberDork
9/27/24 9:24 a.m.

In reply to RacerBoy75 :

I remember on one of my visits to costa rica there was a ton of rain and the main highway from the coast back to San Jose washed out. So we were routed through the 300 class roads in the mountains. I thank god to today that I had a stick shift rental car. If I would have had the CVT version, I don't think I'd be here.

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