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Monday, April 29, 2013

# 430 - Car Shopping for Country Commute

Moving to the country means that we need a vehicle for the country commute. Currently, we own TWO trucks, not the best mode of transportation when it comes to gas mileage. And mileage is going to be an issue as Deputy Dave drives from his acreage/farm to downtown Houston during the week.

So, this past weekend we visited several car dealerships.

The Fiat is pretty darn cute, but Deputy Dave is pretty darn big.


We were laughing so hard. I realized that his arm span is so ginormous that he would not have to worry about power locks or power doors because he could access EVERYTHING in the car with a simple reach over.


He seems to think this vehicle would have PLENTY of room for him because the interior looked so spacious. However, we were making mad dashes to multiple car lots on SUNDAY so we could look at the body styles, car stats and prices without interruption; Sunday looking means no sitting inside the vehicles and no test-drives. But, our goal was to whittle down the choices and to waste less time later for our test-drive selections.


However, it was nice to narrow down the search for real contenders. Below, the Ford Focus is nice, gets good gas mileage, and has a decent price.


And then I stumble across this little baby --- oh this is SO ME! Maybe another day...


I believe the car below is called a Ford Spark, but it is REALLY SMALL. One claustrophobic feature is that the backseat is positioned directly against the back window. Essentially, there is no trunk space, so if you were rear-ended, you would be feeling it, and any back-seat passengers would be bumper-bait.

However, this car had a price tag of about $14,000.

Regardless, the wheels are so tiny that excessive mileage on long trips might have those babies burning from rapid rotations needed to roll the car. And I think the engine was a 1.2 and might be enough to be coaxed up a hill or two.


Then, we get to the Honda dealership and I feel as if we have ARRIVED! The Civic has amazing "standard" features that would cost major money to upgrade onto other vehicles, and this car has a great price-tag, which makes you take a double, triple, quadruple look.


The Civic has a nice body style, it's an established vehicle and it seems Honda has the manufacturing of this car nearly perfected, especially for the price. I believe this one is approximately $19,000 and is fairly loaded, except for leather seats.


The Honda Civic below is my favorite. It has a "Whale Tail" (or whatever that is called) added to the back/top of the trunk...I love it.


Okay, Deputy Dave finally found a car that fits him like a glove. I can see that Goldilocks expression that says, "This one isn't too big and it isn't too small...it is MEGA FAST and is JUST RIGHT!"

However, the price tag of near $60,000 is NOT right at all.


I think the Honda Civic is the winner.

4 comments:

Mike said...

As soon as I saw the Fiat I said you needed a Mini. Lo and behold you had a pic. We love them and almost got one for the whoa-man before the SUV. Maybe next time for us, too.

Dreaming said...

One thing that can be said about Hondas is that they are like Energizer bunnies... they run and run and run.

IanH said...

One of the guys at the coffee stop has a Mini Cooper.It looks really neat! The Honda is an all round winner (if the price is right). Good luck! I figured the Deputy would be standing beside a Dodge Viper (at least for a picture). :-}

LindaG said...

Haha. With a Fiat, Deputy Dave won't have parking problems; he can just put it in his pocket! ;-)

Our oldest boy always wanted a Mini Cooper. I think he's changed his mind now that he's married with a daughter.
He had a Honda Civic and was quite happy with it.
To me, leather seats are minus. Especially in hot weather. But not bad if you don't wear shorts. ;-)

Hope the Civic works out when you do the test fit and drive!