January 10, 2004
There's a new car in the family!
My GF (Gorgeous Fiancé - who may also herein be referred to as "Pookie") has been car shopping for a couple of months now. Her lease on her car is about to expire and after 3 years of driving a car she absolutely hated, she's ready for something she will really enjoy. Except we are planning on buying a house this summer, so we are being very conscious of our financial situation.
We drove a couple of cars and she finally got serious and set up a spreadsheet listing each car, it's price, and their persuasive allure. The dream car (on the list at least) was a G35X sedan. The G's are rear wheel drive and in the winters of the great northeast that wouldn't be practical. Fortunately, Infiniti figured that out and just started offering a 4-wheel drive version, the X. And naturally, the X is more expensive than the regular G - somewhere up in the 33K range. Well, unfortunately for the G, also on the list was the Mazda 6. And we drove the Mazda 6. Although it is a bit tighter feeling on interior space, for almost 10k less, the G no longer stood a chance. Also on the list was the VW Passat, Audi A4, and Nissan Maxima and two SUV's also graced the list - they were the Nissan Murano and the Mazda Tribute. I know - it's a weird set of vehicles to compare against each other, but they did met a very specific list of requirements. That being, front wheel, or 4 wheel drive, a V6 with at least 200hp, not too big or too small (that's a very specific requirement) and finally it had to look good. The Murano definitely looks good on the outside, but after driving it we were left with the impression that the exterior wrote a check that the interior couldn't cash. Inside it just seemed too plasticy and cheap. Same with the Max. The Germans are both very nice cars, but they seem to lack emotion.
In the end it wasn't even a fair fight. Neither GF or I are affected by the bling factor, and with the aforementioned home purchase on the horizon, the price was a big factor. But even if there had been something on the list less expensive, I don't think it would have changed her decision. One drive of the Tribute and suddenly our car shopping adventure was over. Meet "Tribbi" - the new family truckster:
