The Outback was sweet. It is bigger and more luxe than our current car. The interior was comfortable and roomy. (I rode in the back because it is critical that the backseat be comfortable for our growing boys.) Cap said it felt good to drive.
Our next step will be to test drive the Prius wagon. If the wagon is not a good match for us, we will likely go with the Outback. If the wagon is a very good match, we'll have some thinking to do. The wagon is a first ever generation and, so far, all opinions shared with us have urged us not to get a first generation car.
Before we test drove, I was leaning towards the Impreza wagon because it gets excellent gas mileage. But once we drove it, we realized that it would be too small, comfort-wise, for family trips of any length. Also, the lighter frame, which makes the better gas mileage possible, made for bumpier handling according to my driver.
I'm glad the process is rolling. As I said to Cap, it was remarkable what a crucial difference it made to actually get in and out of these cars. Scrolling through websites and lists of features, while fun, can take you away from the bottom line: a car is a car is a car. Most details aren't worth anything if the car doesn't feel right when you drive it.
I was kind of shocked to meet a salesman who was down-to-earth and easy to hang out with. (The owner of the dealership fit the negative stereotype of car salesman much more.) If we do end up going with the Outback I will actually make an effort to buy it through our dude today. I liked him that much.
After we picked the kids up, Sag flipped through the brochure we'd received. He really liked the way the Outback looked and eagerly noted that it comes with an entertainment option. (He so wants dvd screens for the backseat.) He has been taking the impending loss of our current car (the only car he has ever known) very hard. I was thrilled that he likes the idea of an Outback enough to banish his sad thoughts away.
3 comments:
Hmmmm....i've had a REALLY negative response to those back-seat DVD consoles....luckily, in my life, they were not available, and I have found long and short car rides to be really valuable time to be with my kids. Yes, it is hard and aggravating to try to help them be entertained....but that's what I did. I did not entertain them all the time, but supported them to find ways of entertaining themselves. In the current world of parenting, there is SO MUCH SCREEN TIME! And for many parents, it is so much easier to put on a DVD in the car....but it interferes with conversation, book reading, mutual music listening (on the car's CD, not personal Ipods)....so I am not a fan...but in a way, I'm being a Luddite...if every family has this, why not your (or my) kids? I don't know. I just don't like that this technology exists. I don't know what I would do if I had young kids now.
I hear you, Sue. On one hand, I often struggle with mixed feelings about screens and screen time, but on the other, realize that this is an aspect of life that is concretely different than my own childhood...to the point that comparing would be like comparing apples and oranges.
My own screen time was very limited as a kid (in elementary school I was allowed two hours of tv a week and no movies). I think this has contributed to my obsessive tv watching as an adult. It's interesting bc Cap, who watched a lot of tv as a kid and teen watches hardly any tv now.
The only reason I would consider getting the dvd screens (which we are not planning on doing as much as Sag would love it) is that I wonder if it would help with his car sickness.
I don't think anyone we know well has these screens in their cars. Oh, I just thought of one friend who does. So it might feel like "everybody" has one, but there are holdouts who opt for conversation, music and dreaming while staring at the landscape whip by out the windows :-)
I totally understand that one can't compare. I did not have limits on TV b/c there were only three channels and most of it was not kid programming! Now there is a completely overwhelming supply of kid's DVDs and programs....more than any child could consume. When our kids were little, our van came with a VHS player, which we never installed. I never needed to put limits on their screen time b/c they were so busy. I understand that screen time is a HUGE and complex situation for today's parents...I guess I am around poor children so much who spend so much screen time: Movies, cartoons, video games, and computers that it really interferes with their social skills.
Carsickness....now that would be a complex challenge to solve....can he watch a movie on your iPhone in the car? I wonder if there is any research on the internet about watching movies in cars and carsickness?
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