Crap. I realized in part two of this series, I left out one angle of my car search. It’s not terribly important to the big picture, but I figure if I’m writing about the process, and some of you are actually reading about it, I shouldn’t skip anything that happened along the way.
At the end of my last entry, I revealed that I had settled on a specific category of cars to focus on: luxury compact SUVs. While that is true, that was not my first choice.
Initially, seeking to go waaaaay smaller than my current ride and save more money, I had picked the luxury SUBcompact SUV class to investigate. Many of these vehicles are just barely SUVs. Actually, they are pretty damn close to being small station wagons as opposed to SUVs. They zip around pretty nicely, depending on the engine you get, and have fantastic mileage. They would be super easy to park in the garage, too.
So my initial list was:
- BMW X1
- Mercedes GLA
- Volvo XC40
- Audi Q3
However, when I showed this list to S, she scoffed. “Those are all too small.”
“Sure,” I said, “but, remember, we don’t need a huge car anymore.”
“I understand that, but I just think those are too small. You can barely get three kids in the back, and there’s not much room for cargo behind the second row if it’s full.
“You should look for something bigger.”
I don’t want to create the wrong impression here: I am allowed to make my own decisions. In fact, S has told me to pick whatever car I like the most and get it. Since she is the one who brings home the bacon and pays the bills, though, she does get some input. And when she tells me to look at bigger, nicer cars, I listen.
So THAT’S how I arrived at looking in the luxury compact SUV space, and next time we can finally get into my first test drive.