I Bought A New Car Today!

It's a wonderful feeling just to be able to buy something expensive -- to have the luxury of shopping and choosing it for yourself, without worrying what someone else wants or thinks you should do.

Of course, it's even nicer when the other people in your life agree with you.

Several years ago I fell in love with minivans. My husband had hit a deer and totaled his old beater, and we were broke, so with $1,000 cash in hand from the insurance settlement we bought a 1995 Dodge Caravan. We loved that car, considering how little it cost, despite the funky smell we never could quite get rid of. And I knew that our next car had to be another minivan. Fortunately, in a few more years, our financial situation was a bit better and we drove a 2004 Kia Sedona off the new-car lot.

For those who are shopping for minivans, I highly recommend the Sedona. I took some heat for buying a Kia ("Kia? What the heck is that?") but the price was right - it's one of the lowest priced vehicles in its class - it has great safety ratings, and it was quite comfy. I can't complain about the reliability, either! It might not have had all the bells & whistles of, say, a Honda Odyssey, but who cares? It was a great car. Towed 3500 pounds. Felt nice and solid.

But lately I've been feeling just a little silly for driving such a big beast. We only have two children, and rarely tote around extras. We camp, but recently purchased a Class C camper (1978 Travel Craft, in all its orange and harvest-gold glory) so cargo space isn't a big deal. For towing and hauling, when needed, we have my mom's old Ford Windstar minivan, which isn't worth much on the market (and is cheap to insure) but still runs great.

For some reason, nearing that 40th birthday has activated my Vanity Switch. You know the one, that little voice in your head that says "So what if the shoes pinch? You look so much better in heels than those old practical flats." Or "Go ahead...buy another lipstick." Oh, come on...you've got one. Guys have them too. That's why there are so many tough Hemi pickup trucks on the road, with pretty young things in the passenger seat.

I swear, I never thought I would see a car as anything but transportation. For a long time, I was just happy to HAVE a car. Then I wanted a car that suited my practical needs. Next I demanded a reliable car, one I didn't have to worry about breaking down if I wanted to drive it on a 300-mile day trip with the kids. The next desire was for a comfortable, practical reliable car. And then I wanted a good-looking comfortable practical reliable car. But then....

But then something clicked and suddenly I started caring WHAT COLOR the car was and suddenly I didn't want to drive a minivan because those are middle-aged utilitarian MOM CARS. Never mind the fact that I AM a middle-aged mom. That is not ALL I am!

Besides, I am soon to be a college student. College students don't drive minivans, do they?

So! Here's what I wanted: A compact SUV, preferably with 4-wheel drive, but that wasn't essential. I wanted a vehicle that sits up higher than the average "car" but isn't a humongous gas guzzling behemoth. Or, as one of my friends put it, "a rolling apology."

Candidates included:
* Kia Sportage
* Kia Rondo
* Honda Element
* Honda CR-V
* Jeep Patriot
* Hyundai Tucson
* Saturn Vue
* Ford Edge
* Ford Escape

My hubby and I headed out with the kids, who were not particularly enthusiastic about test-driving new cars on one of their precious Winter Break days, but tried to be good sports anyhow.

First we drove the Honda Element. We loved it, but the two things that bugged me were the doors - the back door opens backwards and you can't open the back door without first opening the front door, which means that if you're in the back and nobody's in the front you have to climb over the seat to open the front door or else pound on the window in the hope that someone will take pity on you and let you out. It also only seats four, which creates difficulty when you need to bring one of the kids' friends somewhere. We did like the utilitarian design, though, and ease of cleaning.

Next was the Jeep Patriot. We drove a vibrant blue one, and it was very cute, but really uncomfortable.

Over at the Saturn dealer, we tested a Vue. Yuck. That's my summary. Yuck. The steering felt...I dunno how to describe it...slippery and loose. And the turn signals, well, the sound that blinker makes is great for people who tend to turn them on and forget about them, because you can't ignore that sound! I don't remember much about the car beyond that, and don't have to.

The next day, I went out with the kids again and drove the Kia Sportage. I really liked this car, but it didn't have much "get up and go." Granted, I chose the 4 cylinder instead of the 6, but better gas mileage was my goal. It didn't surprise me. My hubby owns a 2001 Sportage and it's the same way, but we like it anyway.

We looked at the Rondo too, but it's a little bigger than what I had in mind. If we went too big, I might as well keep my minivan. This wasn't, after all, just about buying something new.

After that, we headed back over to the Honda dealer. The kids were in love with the Element. It's cute, right? They swore they could handle its shortcomings. I wasn't so sure. But they wouldn't let me forget it. They kept chanting "E-le-ment! E-le-ment!" (sigh) It got old fast. I knew how I really felt about the car, though, in a Freudian-slip kind of way when I was talking to the Kia salesman and accidentally referred to it as the "Elephant."

I took a good look at the CR-V, a car that at first glance didn't seem to meet my needs. Technically it isn't an SUV; I guess you'd call it a "crossover." There was a pretty glacier blue one on the lot. It had extra accessories -- running boards, mud flaps, and a roof rack. I didn't care about that stuff and I thought I wanted a darker blue anyway. But we drove it and I fell in love. This car is great! It's got plenty of power for its size, it feels solid and well-made. It's comfy! The seat adjusts in height, great for short people like me. Totally ergonomic design. Split rear seats that fold up to create more cargo space. Nifty shelf in the back for hiding and stacking cargo. Moon roof! I LOVE this car.

We went back today and drove the "royal blue pearl." The other one was in the showroom, which was why they put all the extra stuff on it, to show it off indoors. But they sold it to us anyway, at the same MSRP as the other one. We decided the lighter blue was much nicer!



This is one SWEEEEET ride! Check it out, this photo is the same as mine, but mine has running boards, mud flaps and a roof rack: